Thinking of Your Sins
by Penultimate
Summary: Seto's lost the will to fight. Gozaburo is his keeper and will see to it that nothing stops his rule over the 16-year-old boy. But that was how it once was. Now Seto is charged with Gozaburo's murder. The real question is: Why?
1. The Transcript

**Author's Note: The first chapter is written in a script format as an interview transcript, but all chapters hereafter will be written in a typical story format. Also, note that this story has been rated T for strong language, graphic violence and "adult content." Thirdly - as explained here in the first chapter - this story does contain character death.**

**Disclaimer: Takahashi = Yu-Gi-Oh! God. 'Nuff said.**

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_-The Recording-_

_From the Domino Police Department:_

_The following is a transcript based on the taped conversation and any such recorded confessions of one Seto Kaiba in regards to Kaiba v. the Municipality of Domino, Tokyo, Japan. Note that a dash (—) will represent a beat of silence. The following documents are not to be shared with any individual other than those under the employment of the Domino Police Department unless granted permission to do so by the presiding official in question._

—

—

**Winters:** The date is November 17th, 2002; the time is 12:07 p.m. My name is Jonathan winters, hereafter referred to as "Jonathan Winters" and "Winters" in transcript. I am an official with the Domino Police Department. This interview is occurring in regards to the matter of Kaiba versus the Municipality of Domino, Tokyo, Japan. Seto Kaiba, hereafter referred to as "Seto Kaiba" and "Kaiba" in transcript, is being charged with the second degree murder of Gozaburo Kaiba. Due to the fact that the only member of the victimized party is now deceased, the municipality has taken it upon itself to represent him on his behalf. Seto Kaiba, on the charge of the second degree murder of Gozaburo Kaiba, how do you plead?

**Kaiba:** Not guilty.

**Winters:** Note that Seto Kaiba pleads not guilty. We will now begin the questioning. Mr. Kaiba, you are aware of the fact that you have the right to wait for the presence of your attorney, are you not?

**Kaiba:** Yes. But I don't know why I would need an attorney because I haven't done anything. That's what I've been trying to tell you people.

**Winters:** There is always the possibility that you might make an incriminating statement, and seeing as how this conversation is being recorded-

**Kaiba:** An incriminating statement over a crime I didn't commit, mind you.

**Winters:** That would be enough proof to condemn you. You realize that you are looking at a sentence of 20 years in prison to life in prison, with the death penalty still on the table?

**Kaiba:** I've done nothing wrong. You have _no_ right to hold me here.

**Winters:** Actually, we have a right by the laws of the jurisdiction of the municipality of Domino, Tokyo, Japan to hold you in custody until we see fit to release you. If nothing less, you were a witness to the suicide committed by Gozaburo Kaiba. At the most, you were his murderer.

**Kaiba:** I _didn't_ murder him.

**Winters:** You are next in line to run Kaiba Corporation, the billion dollar company that Gozaburo Kaiba founded. You don't think some people - possibly a judge or jury - would see that as motive?

**Kaiba:** I wouldn't kill him for the company.

**Winters:** You expect me - or anyone for that matter - to believe that?

**Kaiba:** Doesn't matter. I've. Done. _Nothing_.

**Winters:** And you feel the fact that you have recently been under a heavy amount of legal speculation _won't_ draw a judge's attention?

**Kaiba:** A lot of rumors have been going around about my business as of late. But anything shady that was going on at Kaiba Corporation was all controlled by Gozaburo. I had nothing to do with any of it.

**Winters: **Just like you had nothing to do with your father's death?

**Kaiba:** _Step-father._

—

**Kaiba:** Let's get our stories straight, shall we? Gozaburo killed himself.

**Winters:** Let's talk a bit more about the company.

**Kaiba:** All of the legal speculation that you referred to was never even brought to court. Those counts are useless. So what more is there to talk about?

**Winters: **Mr. Kaiba, you're sixteen years old. You aren't even of age yet. In fact, many people would still call you a child.

**Kaiba:** I am _not_ a child. I've had more life experience in my sixteen years than two-thirds of your "boys in blue."

**Winters:** You smile as though you're proud of that.

**Kaiba:** I'm alive, aren't I? Some aren't so lucky...

—

**Winters:** Nevertheless, you're still quite young. Why would you kill Gozaburo in order to take over his company, now of all times?

**Kaiba:** I told you: I didn't kill him.

**Winters:** Then who did?

**Kaiba:** He did. He committed suicide.

—

**Kaiba:** My stepfather was having a nervous breakdown... He knew that I was close to taking the company right out from under him, and he lost it.

**Winters:** That's the best you can come up with?

**Kaiba:** It's the truth. I had gone to see him about finalizing some paper work. We talked for a minute, exchanged a few angry words, and he jumped.

**Winters:** He didn't just _jump_ out the window, Mr. Kaiba. He threw himself right through the glass.

**Kaiba:** Whatever works.

—

**Winters:** You're very smug about Gozaburo's death, Mr. Kaiba.

**Kaiba:** The fact that he threw himself through the glass is only more evidence that he'd gone completely insane. He just ran right through the window.

**Winters: **And you expect me to believe that?

**Kaiba:** Not really. The man was insane; you aren't supposed to find what he does rational or reasonable. It isn't supposed to make sense.

—

**Winters:** Mr. Kaiba, would I be correct in assuming that you had a fairly unstable relationship with your stepfather?

**Kaiba:** That's one way of putting it.

**Winters:** And would I be correct in assuming that Gozaburo's death - suicide or not - is in some way related to the other various illegal activities your name has been tied to?

**Kaiba:** I feel as though you're trying to make a point - as though you're targeting a specific rumor.

**Winters:** Perhaps you say that Gozaburo's death was a suicide because he knew more about your private life that you were comfortable with.

**Kaiba:** Mr. Winters-

**Winters:** Perhaps your adopted father knew more than he should.

**Kaiba:** I warn you-

**Winters:** And perhaps you decided to kill him because of it.

**Kaiba:** Enough! Do you want to know why my stepfather died? Do you _really_ want to know? Because he was _sick_. He was a sick man. He was troubled, he wasn't well, and because he was just plain _fucked up_. He was angry and insane and he took that out on me. And when it all became too much-when I threatened the last thing that he had left-do you know what he did? He killed himself!

—

**Kaiba:** And I'm sure this is exactly like something you would want me to say in order to incriminate myself, but what the hell right? I'm _glad_ that he's dead. I only wish it all could have ended sooner. Because if it had ended just a little bit earlier all of those ethical charges you're so ready to call into question might never have happened.

—

**Kaiba:** I know the city is all up-in-arms about his death, and they figure they've lost a treasure, and isn't it just so sad? But I promise you this: the world will be a better place without Gozaburo Kaiba. At least I know _my_ world will be.

—

—

**Winters:** Are you finished?

**Kaiba:** So long as you're finished discussing mute matters and prepared to focus on the incident at hand.

**Winters:** I'll do my best. You know, Mr. Kaiba, I don't really believe that Gozaburo killed himself. I don't see why he would, and your explanation of taking over his company just doesn't do it for me. A man famed for his hostile company take overs and ruthless business strategies doesn't crack under pressure. Not over something like a sixteen-year-old threatening to take over his company.

—

**Kaiba:** Go on, if you must.

**Winters:** I also think that you had something to do with his death. Maybe you pushed him out that window. You insist he was crazy; maybe you said something to him, pushed the right buttons, and made him jump. Either way it doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure that there's a lot that went on between yourself and your stepfather that you don't intend to divulge to anyone, including your lawyer. All you're prepared to discuss is what will get you out of trouble. Right?

—

**Winters:** I believe that you killed Gozaburo Kaiba. But I don't think you did just because you wanted to take over his company... So I'm willing to make a deal with you.

**Kaiba:** Excuse me?

**Winters:** Let's say that I'm willing to listen to your testimony - your entire story - and I'll record it. The whole thing. That's more than any court or judge will give you. And if I believe what you say is true... consider all of this over.

**Kaiba:** What kind of authority do you have that would declare me innocent?

**Winters:** Let's just say that I know a guy.

—

**Kaiba:** You just want to record the conversation and sell it to the press.

**Winters:** Nope. As soon as I get done with this tape it goes into storage. It'll never see the light of day again. If it were to surface, it would be considered illegal and I would be the person who would have to suffer for it. And I don't want that.

**Kaiba:** And you say that if I convince you, you'll see that I'm proven innocent?

**Winters:** It will be as though this never happened. You won't see a day of jail, hardly any court time. It'll save you both time and money, Mr. Kaiba. And a CEO can't afford to waste either, can he?

—

**Winters:** I'm your only hope. No judge will listen to your entire story. And because of your age, if you _are_ found guilty - and let's face it, you probably will be - then you will be tried as an adult. That's the last thing you want. Now, are you willing to record a testimony or not?

—

—

**Winters:** Mr. Kaiba?

—

**Kaiba:** I... it... I'm not confessing to anything. I'm giving you my testimony, and telling you why I wouldn't kill Gozaburo. Is that understood?

**Winters: **Completely understood.

—

—

—

**Kaiba:** It... It had all started a little over... a year ago. Gozaburo had finally given consent so that I could attend a public school. Before that I had always been home schooled, but I had put in the effort to convince him to allow me to attend a normal school. That was all I wanted anymore... a bit of normalcy in my life...


	2. I Don't Need A Friend

**Disclaimer:** **Takahashi owns all. I own little. Either way, please don't steal! :D**

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**

Seto Kaiba sat in the midnight-black stretch limousine, his head pressed against the windows. His eyelids had begun to droop severely, and if the limo had not driven over a bump in the road and bounced the young CEO-to-be awake, he might have fallen asleep all together. It had been another late night of work and... 'training.'

Straightening in his seat, the brunette glanced out the window and, rather than using it as a pillow, looked to see how close he was to Domino High. After all, this was the first day of term, and his first day of public schooling. His stepfather had finally granted him permission to go to a public school. It had taken Seto a _long_ time to prove to his 'care giver' that he could go to school and continue Gozaburo's studies, along with the man's personal 'training,' all at the same time. However, he had finally managed to convince the man to allow him some freedom.

The 15-year-old continued to gaze out the window, frowning as he recalled what kind of 'persuasion' had been required to obtain his stepfather's approval, when suddenly the limousine came to a screeching halt. Seto was flung forward in his seat, nearly falling onto the floorboard. Righting himself quickly, he turned his cold eyes on the driver.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" he growled viciously, straightening the wrinkles in his school uniform.

"I'm sorry, sir," the driver said quickly. "I couldn't help it."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"A girl just ran out in front of the car!"

His frown deepening, Seto peered through the open partition that separated the front of the limo from the back and saw a brown haired, green eyed girl glaring at the limo with a look of anger upon her face. Suppressing the urge to laugh, Seto simply leaned back in his seat, allowing a smug look to cross his countenance.

"Should I go see if she's all right?" the driver asked somewhat sarcastically, watching as the girl flipped a middle finger to both he and Seto.

"She seems perfectly fine to me," the brunette chuckled. He shook his head, watching as the girl stalked off to the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

"I'm sorry, Master Seto," the driver sighed, shaking his head as he slowly released the emergency break and resumed the drive to the school. "It won't happen again."

"Good. The last thing that either of us wants is my stepfather breathing down our necks about a car crash."

"Yes, sir."

With that, there was silence between Seto and the driver all the way to Domino High. As the limousine pulled to a stop in front of the school, attracting the attention of many curious onlookers, the brunette gazed out at the school and the sea of students that stood gawking at the car. It was at this moment, for the first time, that he started to reconsider his desire for public education. Sure, it would be great to get away from Gozaburo for six hours a day, five days a week, but was it really worth going through with this...?

"Master Seto, if I may," the driver murmured, turning in his seat to face Seto, "I know it might seem a bit intimidating... but in all fairness to the many teenagers out there, they have no idea what's about to hit them."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Seto asked in response, his voice sounding curious rather than irritated for the first time all morning.

"Think about it, sir. You're '_The_ Seto Kaiba: Up and Coming CEO of Kaiba Corporation.' You've been bred to be the best, and those poor kids think that some rich, spoiled brat is about to step out of this limo, ripe for the picking-on. No offense," he added quickly.

Seto's first reaction - from his 'breeding' he supposed - would have been to chastise the driver for such impertinence. However, when he realized how right the driver was and how much better it made him feel, he simply offered the employee a nod of the head, opened his door, and stepped out of the limo into the parking lot of Domino High. He slung his backpack over one shoulder, shut the car door behind him with a commanding air, and began to walk forward slowly, regally, and in such a practiced way that it didn't exactly seem natural.

But it was natural for '_The_ Seto Kaiba.'

. . . . .

Alex Fides stormed down the hallway, her backpack slung roughly over her shoulder. She was very annoyed at the moment. Some idiot had just tried to run her over in a limo! What the _hell_ was up with that? Of course, she _had_ run out in the middle of the street without looking... But she was going to be late if she didn't hurry! After all, they didn't put that "25 Miles/Hour Through School Zone" sign up _just_ because they thought the flashing light made the street more decorative.

_Stupid rich people_, Alex thought to herself. _Think they own the world... jeez..._

Sighing heavily, the fuming teen made her way to the front office. It was her first day to attend Domino High, and in truth she had no idea where anything was or what she was doing. But she had overheard two girls talking about how first-period classes were posted on the front windows of the main office, so she assumed that the office should be her first stop.

When she arrived at the main office, Alex was overwhelmed by at least ten printed pages - more than likely more - of students' names, their first period instructors, and the room numbers that the instructors taught in. Her eyes scanned the list until she came to the letter "F." Luckily her name was only three spaces down on the sheet.

_Fides, Alex - Sophomore - Ms. Whalish - Room #306_

Once again, Alex found herself at a loss of what to do considering that she had no idea where room 306 was. She could always ask the secretary at the desk, but she didn't want it to appear as though she were lost. So she simply exited the office, her intention to wander the halls until she found her homeroom.

Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba had just approached the Main Office, his posture just as noble as when he had first stepped out of the limo. He glanced sideways, watching the retreating figure of a brown-haired girl who seemed to have a general idea of where she was headed. Wishing he had the confidence of at least knowing his way around the building, Seto turned his attention to the list of names posted on the office windows. It took him a minute or two to locate his name, but when he finally did, his eyes narrowed slightly to read the fine print.

_Kaiba, Seto - Sophomore - Mrs. Whalish - Room #306_

It was then that Seto rolled his eyes, having forgotten the main irritant of attending you school: you had to have teachers. From his experience with his tutors he had learned that every teacher was different and a little nutty, and there was always that _one_ teacher you hated beyond all reason. He only hoped that the "one teacher" wouldn't be his homeroom. (After all, who wants to deal with the evilest of teachers just after waking up? And it was a well known fact among the servants at Kaiba Mansion that Seto Kaiba was _not_ a morning person...)

"Can I help you out, hon?" the secretary asked from behind the desk, and Seto realized that he had been standing before the list of classes for several minutes now. Turning on his heel to face the woman, he approached the desk.

"Could you tell me where Room 306 is?" he asked, unable to suppress the slightest touch of condescension in his voice.

"Right down this hall and to your left," she said with a smile, popping her bubblegum as she spoke. Just as Seto was about to turn away, however, recognition seemed to dawn on her, and her eyes widened.

"Hey!" she gasped, pointing at him. "You're that one kid, aren't you? The Kaiba kid?"

Seto stared at her for a moment with cold, steely eyes, then turned without a word and left the office. Surely this would prove to be an eventful morning.

. . . . .

"Welcome!" cried a large, red faced woman from the front of the class. All of the students, including our two brunettes, were seated in pairs at tables around the room. Every student seemed to have found a friend from the year before, save for two. Alex Fides sat alone at a table on the far right of the class; Seto Kaiba sat alone at a table on the far left.

"Welcome," the woman crowed again, "to my lovely little class! I am Ms. Whalish, your Home Economics teacher! I hope to get to know all of you _very _well, and I hope that my classroom will be like a second home to you!

"Now, first things first! While you are in my class, you will be learning many different life skills. One of these skills-possibly the most important of all-will be working _together_. Most of you will be married one day, and you will find it difficult to cope with sharing every aspect of your life with another person. But in this class, you will be paired with a fellow classmate so that you may simulate cooperating with a spouse!" Whalish seemed thrilled by the idea that these students were being let in on one of life lessons a little early, and when a student raised his hand, she nodded to him with bright, expectant eyes. "Yes?"

"So," the student-a preppy-jock, from the looks of him-said, "if we're going to be 'simulating' the idea of having a spouse, does that mean we're going to have to 'simulate' _all_ the aspects? Like... sex education with our partner and stuff? 'Cause if we are, then I wanna know how you're gonna grade us."

The majority of the class laughed, and the girl sitting beside the jock elbowed him with a suggestive smile. Whalish, however, didn't seem to find it very funny, her face twisting with a mix of rage and embarrassment.

"I should say _not_!" she bellowed, a bit flustered. She took a deep breath as she attempted to regain her composure, then put on a broad smile as she addressed the class once more. "Now... now, I'm going to read from my little list her who your partner will be, so everybody listen up!"

The woman, whose annoyance-factor had only increased after the sex ed. question, waved a piece of notebook class for the class to see before bringing it up to her face and squinting at it through beady eyes. She began reading the names aloud in no apparent order, though it seemed that everyone was satisfied with their designated partners. Several girls, however, continued shooting Seto furtive looks-which he didn't appear to notice-and seemed rather disappointed when informed that he would _not_ be their partner. After several long, droning minutes of name calling, she came to the final pair.

"Seto Kaiba and... Alex Fides." Whalish looked up to identify each of them, and when both brunettes glanced at each other from across the room she smiled. "Good! It'll be good for the two of you to be partners! Class, these are the _only two_ students that will be joining us for their first year! Miss Fides is a transfer in from the United Kingdom, and Mr. Kaiba has been home schooled up until now. I trust you will all welcome them with open arms!" The pudgy teacher smiled brightly as she pointed to both Alex and Seto and then motioned to a vacant table less separated from the other students. "Why don't you two sit together here?"

Both Alex and Seto were still for a moment before each rose to their feet and did as they were told. As they sat down, Alex shot a glance at Seto when he wasn't looking and Seto did the same. Whalish then grabbed a large stack of papers, presumably the syllabi, and as she began handing them out Alex turned to face her partner.

"My name's Alex," the brunette said with a smile. The smile wavered, however, when Seto turned his cold glare upon her.

"If you didn't notice, that woman just announced your name to the entire class. Not only do _I_ know it, but so does everyone else."

"Oh, right," she murmured sheepishly. "Um, I-"

"Allow me to stop you right there, because I can already see where this is headed. You're going to try to strike up a conversation with me. Your intention is to cut through the cold, blue eyes and the stony appearance and figure out exactly what makes me tick so that I can be your best friend, you can be mine, and you won't feel all lonely on the inside. And deep down, you're absolutely sure that I feel the exact same way."

Seto paused, folding his hands together on the tabletop as Alex stared at him blankly.

"However, our intentions are entirely different," he continued. "I'm going to cut straight through the bullshit and get right to the point: I don't want a partner, and I sure as hell don't want a friend. But I have to get an A in this worthless class, regardless. So I'll do what has to be done and what group work I have to do. But keep in mind that I don't care to be your friend because I don't need a friend. Do I make myself clear?"

Alex stared at him, her eyebrows arched. She had been stunned into silence by his hostile tone, but took only a moment to recover. That was fine. If he didn't care then neither did she. So she smiled and turned to face the front of the class, rather than have to look at Seto.

"Oh, yeah... You're _crystal_."


	3. The Zoo Life

**Disclaimer: So, if Takahashi is the 'god' of Yu-Gi-Oh!, I suppose that makes me the Lucifer that fell from his grace and manipulated his creations for my own purposes.**

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Three hours later, our two brunettes found themselves at opposite ends of the cafeteria, examining their schedules: one sat at a table full of people, and the other sat alone. Three guesses as to which one sat where.

Seto, who had attracted far too much attention for his liking, had managed to deflect the popularity with a single cold stare. Alex, however, had not been so lucky.

Her arrival at school had gathered a small amount of attention—miniscule compared to Seto's following, but substantial enough to gather a few of the curious. She supposed it had something to do with being a new student and having an odd accent, but she didn't really care either way. So long as there were people out there a bit friendlier than Seto Kaiba, she wasn't going to complain. During her second period she had been invited to have lunch with a boy named Gregory Johnson and a girl named May Akashi. Shortly after, she was invited to eat with two other students: a boy, Ni Sei, and a girl, Ivory Blanken, and it turned out to be a big, funny coincidence that the four were friends who usually ate lunch together anyway, along with two other freshmen that Alex recognized from her first period.

"Aren't you in my HomeEc class?" one of them—a girl who Alex had been told was named Akki Otome—asked as soon as she had sat down.

"Yeah. I think I remember seeing you there..."

"We've got HomeEc first period," Akki said, trying to prompt Alex's memory. "At least James and I do. Ni has third period HomEc, right Ni?"

"Wait, I remember. You're the one who asked the Sex Ed question, right?" she asked, her eyes shifting to the boy Akki had called 'James.'

"That's me! James Garter, at your service." The boy smiled with pride, glancing sideways at Akki. "Course, doesn't matter whether or not the sex is required. Most people who get paired up in HomeEc end up screwing each other sooner or later. It's kind of an unwritten rule."

"Unwritten or not, that rule's gonna be a bitch for Alex." Akki frowned as she looked at the others. "She's paired up with _Seto Kaiba_."

"No way!" May gasped, turning to look at Alex. "You're seriously paired up with _The_ Seto Kaiba?"

"Yeah..." Alex shrugged, glancing around at the others. "What's so special about him, though?"

"Do you realize how popular you'd be if you got in Kaiba's pants?" Ni laughed, and the others laughed along with him. All except for Ivory.

"No, guys, this is serious shit." She turned her head slightly, staring down the cafeteria to where Seto sat alone staring into his algebra book. "I heard that his dead beats him, like, every night."

"Oh, yeah? And who'd you hear that from, Ive?" Greg asked.

"Sable Mougo."

"Exactly," he sighed, shaking his head. "Well, _Sable_ is a screwed up bitch. She thinks she knows everything, and she doesn't mind telling everyone about it, either."

"What's up with Kaiba, anyway?" Alex asked, glancing over at Seto as well. "I mean, he just seems so angry..."

"I guess he has a right to be," Akki sighed. "Most of us grew up around her, Alex, so we all know what happened. But since you didn't, we'll fill you in."

"Basically, Kaiba's real parents bit the dust," Ni began. "He was just a kid, right? So him and his little brother gotta go to the orphanage after all their relatives soak up their inheritance money. After a while, Gozaburo Kaiba comes around, doing some sort of publicity gig. While he's at the orphanage, Kaiba challenges him to a game of chess. Says if he can beat Gozaburo, then the guy has to adopt him and his kid brother."

"Of course, big CEO Gozaburo Kaiba doesn't think some little orphan is gonna beat hum at such a sophisticated game as chess," May interjected. "So he agrees to the game. They start playing and all... But here's the kicker: Seto _won_."

"He won?" Alex questioned, her eyebrows arching. "How?"

"Sable says he cheated," Ivory murmured, still somewhat disgruntled by her earlier dismissal.

"A lot of people say he cheated," James clarified quickly. "And a lot of people say he won fair and square. They say he was a smart kid to begin with; a genius, y'know? Anyway, Gozaburo stays true to his word and adopts the kids. Only, it turns out Seto got a bit more than he bargained for..."

"Gozaburo names Seto his heir and starts training him to inherit KaibaCorp, one of the biggest legalized armed-weapons dealing facilities in the world." Greg said simply. "Word is, no matter who says it, Gozaburo put Kaiba through some pretty tough 'training' to make him do better, and that it might not have all been on the up and up. Kaiba's been home schooled for as long as anyone can remember, in some kind of accelerated classes or something. None of us can figure out why he's going to school here all of a sudden."

"Who cares?" Akki said with a roll of her eyes. "Just look at it this way: if he _is_ such a tight ass and you _can_ get into his bed, think about how good of a lover he is! All that pent up sexual tension—"

"Akki, you have a one-track mind," James chuckled, wrapping an arm around her wait. "I'm glad. Just keep it tracked a little closer to me, huh?"

As the others laughed, Alex stared down at the table in silence. Her mind was working quickly to process what they had told her. If everything they were saying was true, then it would make sense why he was so cold...

"Do you really think his home life is that bad?" Alex asked, her gaze turning to Kaiba once more. The others shrugged, but Ni was the only one to respond.

"All I know is that if an ass like his is _really_ that tortured, I'd be more than happy to help him... mentally _and_ physically." His own eyes slide to Seto, a sly smile on his face. Greg rolled his eyes to Alex, shaking his head.

"Don't mind Ni; he's about as straight as a rainbow."

As another laugh rippled around the table, Alex frowned, never quite able to tear her eyes off of Seto.

Meanwhile, the object of conversation sat alone at the other end of the cafeteria. He had abandoned his algebra textbook—not because he found it boring, but because he had learned a majority of the information years ago—in favor of his schedule so that he might try to make something out of it.

**1st Period: Home Economics: Ms. Whalish (306)**

**2nd Period: AP Japanese History: Mr. Lee (207)**

**3rd Period: Computer Technology: Mr. Archbury (Computer Lab: 3rd Floor)**

He had already been to his first three classes. History had been nothing special—a wizened old man with a wispy beard droning on about the goings on from centuries ago. Computer Technology had been simple, and after having been in front of a computer for ten minutes Seto had managed to hack his way into the school mainframe. He had spent the remainder of the period glancing over Domino High's financial accounts and budget reports, at a loss as to how the school had managed to stay on its feet with such reckless spending.

Home Economics had been in a league of its own. Between the annoying teacher, the potentially irritating partner, and the fact that he had never wanted to take the class to begin with (it had been the only elective class left with opening enrollment, and Seto could certainly see why), the class had quickly become his least favorite. He supposed he could have managed had the only problem been the teacher or the detestable subject. But no, he had to work with a partner. And he _hated_ working with other people, though he couldn't entirely have been blamed for it. After all, he had been bred to be independent and isolated. It wasn't as though a change in his learning environment would suddenly remedy that...

**4th Period: English/Japanese Literature and Composition: Miss Kim (101)**

**5th Period: AP Chemistry: Mr. Hatchett (204)**

**6th Period: AP Algebra II: Mrs. Stevens (110)**

**7th Period: Study Hall (Library: 1st Floor)**

Seto sighed heavily. He looked forward to sixth period. Whether he was ahead of his class or not, he had always been good at mathematics and would probably enjoy the work. But first he would have to make it through Literature. He despised literature as a subject, and saw no point in reading long, rambling works of alleged greatness or writing long, rambling prose that had no real meaning. It was why he had sped through English tutors until Gozaburo refused to hire another. It had brought the young brunette much pain—in every sense of the word—but it had been worth it in the end, he supposed.

The last class of the day would be study hall, which he assumed would be nice and quiet, not to mention a _perfect_ time to speed through any homework he might have as well as any company related work Gozaburo had given him. What homework did he have so far? For HomeEc he had to complete some sort of interest inventory about things he liked and disliked in an effort to help his partner get to know him better. However, he felt as though he'd done a fairly good job of turning his partner off from wanting to familiarize with him. Even so, the interest inventory was supposed to help prepare them for some big project that Whalish would tell them about soon. Said project was to account for most of their grade, and in truth Seto didn't like the idea of relying on someone else to help him get his A. Especially someone who appeared as dimwitted as Alice or Alynn or whatever her name was...

A bell rang overhead, and Seto heaved another sigh. He had realized by the end of second period that there were three bells, each no different in tone or length than the last: one dismissed class, one alerted that there was one minute left to get to class, and a third told you that you were tardy. Seto had found the entire system pointless, due to the fact that no one seemed to put any real effort into arriving to close on time save for the aspiring CEO, and because no teacher seemed to want to write out an entire class' worth of tardy slips the instructors would simply let the irresponsible behavior pass.

After only three hours of attendance, Seto had drawn his conclusions about high school: it was a zoo. A zoo with a very large number of animals and very few zookeepers. And it went without saying that he felt like the main attraction. All down the hallways he was followed by points, stares, and whispers. But this hardly fazed him; he had been used to the spotlight for a long time now. That being said, he had to concede that the "zoo life" wasn't that bad. It was certainly better than the prison life he was used to within the halls of the Kaiba Mansion. He would have greatly traded one lifestyle for the other fulltime. But no, he would only be allowed this somewhat normal life for six and a half hours a day. The remaining seventeen hours and thirty minutes would be spent locked away as a prisoner once more.


	4. The Family Life

**Disclaimer: I owe Takashi credit for Yu-Gi-Oh!, I owe myself credit for this story, and you owe me a review. Yes please? :D**

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"I'm home!" Alex shouted as she crossed over the threshold of 343 Willow Road. The two-story house looked quaint from the outside: made of brick, with a brown, shingled roof, a white door, a cute little garden running around its foundation. Its white picket fence and Amityville-style window seemed innocent enough. And why shouldn't it? Though displaced in Japan, the Fides family was the ideal American family unit. And their house reflected this sentiment to a tee.

"Hello?" the brunette called again, letting the front door close behind her. Seconds more of silence passed before a squeal of delight echoed through the white washed halls. The next thing Alex knew, she had been tackled by a wave of long, golden hair and knocked a step back.

"Allie's home, Allie's home!" the length of hair cried excitedly. "How was your first day of school? Did you make lots of friends? Did you get all those classes you wanted? Oh, come on and sit down with us. You've got loads to tell us... Tommy, she's home!"

Alex's eyes rolled as Moriah Fides, her mother, led her into the living room still packed full of moving boxes. Along with the boxes, furniture had been crammed into the room, providing a visual of what could only be considered a fire hazard. Moriah did not seem phased by this, however, and managed to clear some packing materials off of the couch so that the mother and daughter could sit down. Again, she began running off questions faster than the fifteen-year-old could take them. Alex had been contemplating a quick exit strategy involving a bogus excuse about piles of homework when a dark-haired man entered the room through the hallway.

"Ria, give her some air, would you? She must be exhausted, and probably has a headache already. She doesn't need _your_ help." The man chuckled, his gaze turning to the teen. "Sam's on the phone, Alex. He wants to know how your day went."

All thoughts of her mother seemed to vanish as Alex dashed through the packing crates as quickly as she could, running down the hallway and into the kitchen. She found an antique, spin-dial phone resting on the floor with its handle offset. Quickly she took the phone in hand, placing the receiver to her ear.

"Dad?" she asked breathlessly. There was a moment's silence on the other end of the line before a warm voice exploded from the phone.

"Hey, baby girl! How's it goin'?"

"Dad, it's got to be—" she paused to check her watch before shaking her head. "It's gotta be nearly four in the morning in Boston! What're you doing up?"

"Waitin' to talk to my little girl, that's what! Now come on, dish to your dad: how was your first day?"

Alex smiled, launching into a detailed explanation of her day. There was something so easy and relaxed in the way her father spoke, something so simple and laid back. It wasn't a barrage of questions or breathless anticipation. It was childlike curiosity, tender interest. It was his warm laugh, his teasing jokes that made her open up. Made her wish he was the one to welcome her home, instead of her mother...

Moriah Fides was now a high-strung, wired up woman in her early thirties with a soft beauty framed by blond locks and brightened by sweet, blue eyes that seemed to reflect a never-talked of youth made of delicate memories. She hadn't always been so excitable, Alex knew. Her father, Samuel Win, had told her of a time when her mother had been a shier, more tender girl not yet taught the ways of the world.

Moriah and Sam had been on-again, off-again high school sweethearts. During one of their on-again periods, the pair had decided that the problem with their relationship had been commitment issues, and had decided that the best thing for the both of them was a surefire commitment fix: marriage. Fresh out of senior year the two were wed before going off to college together. It wasn't long, though, before Moriah became pregnant with Alex and when the couple decided to keep the child, she dropped out of school to raise their daughter.

That was—as Sam liked to say—the beginning of the end. He would say that she resented him because he was able to stay in school—an education that would lead to him becoming a very successful businessman; Moriah insisted that Sam was not nearly as faithful as he let on. Regardless of the reason, it did not take long for the two to find each other unbearable. By the time Alex was five years old, her mother and father had divorced with their only remaining tie being the daughter they shared. A tie that Moriah got custody of, despite Sam's loving fight to keep his daughter.

Shortly after the divorce, however, Moriah found Thomas Fides. With his dark, perfect hair and deep brown eyes, he swept Moriah off her feet. He was charming, funny, and got along well with Alex. Needless to say, he was the perfect man—and within a year he became the perfect husband. As though to make the marriage sting Sam's ego even more, Moriah had Alex's last name changed from "Win" to Fides. The personal shot aside, though, Sam took it all fairly well.

Alex, who had adored Thomas and looked up to him like a father, had never minded the quick change from one father to the next. Certainly she missed Sam, who had never treated her with less reverence than a princess, but Thomas was a fair substitute, she supposed. And despite her mother's subtle objections, Alex kept in close touch with Sam. Sam, who had always seemed like more of a friend than a father, and who she was able to talk to about anything and everything. Sam, who she adored more than almost anyone else in the world.

"Sounds like you've got a pretty cool set up, there, Al," Sam chuckled as Alex finished telling him about her orchestra class.

"Yeah, everything'd be just perfect if it weren't for HomeEc..."

"Home Economics?"

"Yep. It's my first period class."

"Yuck."

"Tell me about it! I only got stuck with it because no other elective was left open. The teacher, Ms. Whalish, is possibly the most annoying woman I've ever met. And even worse, she's making us work with partners the entire school year."

"Partners, huh? Who's your partner?"

"Some kid named Seto Kaiba. Local celebrity with an ego to match the size of his reputation..."

"His father wouldn't happen to be Gozaburo Kaiba by any chance, would it?"

"Um, I think so. But he sounds like an even bigger jerk than Seto. Some people I were talking to said he was really cruel, that he might even be kicking Seto around at home... Why do you ask?"

"Well, both Tom and I do business with Gozaburo from time to time. Now, I've never dealt with him directly, but I know Thomas has. They struck up a few deals back when your step-dad was first getting started. In fact, I think Tom mentioned that he was moving to Tokyo so that he could work a little closer with Gozaburo."

"Really?" Alex fell silent for a moment. Both Sam and Tom worked with computer software, and so they conversed every once and a while about their business. But did that mean that Gozaburo worked in computers too? "Dad... some people told me Gozaburo runs some kind of weapons manufacturing outfit. What kind of business is he in, exactly?"

"Well, Kaiba Corporation is a huge legalized arms manufacturer—one of the biggest in the world. But they put out some state of the art computer technology, too. It kind of goes hand in hand with the weapons their designing. You know, satellites, remote control stuff, that kind of thing. But like I said, their primary focus is on weapons. Wartime stuff. Nukes, biological weapons, the whole shebang. What makes them special, though, is that they're legal—or at least as legal as any weapons manufacture can be. There've been rumors that they've run some shady jobs, but there's never been anything but speculation. No evidence to back anything up. Kaiba's a ruthless son of a bitch, Al. He's a take no prisoners kind of guy. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those rumors you were hearing about that Seto kid's homelife were true."

"Huh..."

"Tell me about the Kaiba kid, though. What's he like? Hard to work with?"

"The _worst_. We're talking about a real weirdo, dad. I tried to introduce myself—you know, make small talk."

"Sure."

"And he nearly bit my head off! Like he's anti-social or something. Talking about what my 'intentions' were and how he didn't need a friend."

"Ouch."

"And the worst part is that I have to act like he's my _husband_ or something for the rest of the year!"

"Oh, so they're wanting _that_ kind of partner huh? Well then you best be ready for the infamous 'baby' project."

"Baby project? You mean that stupid thing they show on TV shows?"

"Oh yeah. It a ninety-nine percent guarantee that they'll pull the baby project on you. Your mom and I had to do something like that back in high school... And I suppose you've already got word that you're supposed to sleep with your partner, huh?"

"Yeah... This kid James took the liberty of informing me on that little note. But even if I _did_ want to sleep with Kaiba—which I don't 'cause he's a cold hearted, self-centered little bran who can take his oversized ego and shove it right up his—"

"Language, kiddo."

"Right, sorry... But even if I _did_ want to sleep with him, everyone's saying it'd be nearly impossible seeing as how he's got such a 'rough background.'"

"Well, do me a favor, Al, and keep your mind off the guys for a bit, huh?"

"Whatever you say dad."

"So what about the rest of your classes, huh? You've got first period HomeEc and second period band. Ah, the fond memories your old man has of band. You'll have to get 'em to teach you the electric guitar like your dad. Next thing I know, my baby girl's gonna show up with a nose ring, blue hair and a Widow tattooed on her arm."

"Dad, I _told_ you," Alex laughed, knowing Sam was just teasing her. "It's not that kind of band; it's orchestra."

"Oh, yeah, right, orchestra. The piano right?"

"Yes, dad."

"Right, right... So what else d'ya got?"

For another hour or so the pair discussed Alex's schedule. She told Sam about her third period Chemistry teacher who, when talking, would spit when discussing something he found particularly exciting. Then there was fourth pierod English/Japanese Literature and Composition with Miss Kim—a class she shared with Ni and Akki, but unfortunately with Kaiba as well. Fifth period was Japanese History even though it focused primarily on Domino, Tokyo, and the surrounding area. Her last real class was Algebra II with Mrs. Stevens, who spoke in a monotone voice and who could have made the most interesting of topics boring, even though she seemed like she'd be a pretty good teacher over all. Lastly was Study Hall, an entire devoted to sitting in the library and catching up on homework. To Alex's dismay she also shared both sixth and seventh period with Seto Kaiba, something Sam seemed to find quite humorous. He told her she would just have to grin and bear it as far as Kaiba was concerned, to which she replied that she would certainly bear it though grinning might not be an option.

The brunette had been about to ask her father how work had been going lately when she heard a sudden beeping from Samuel's end of the line.

"What's that sound?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Ah..." Sam chuckled once more, and Alex could visualize him running his hand through his hair—a nervous twitch that usual accompanied the nervous laugh that had just escaped his lips. "That was my alarm clock, kiddo. We've been talking for quite a while now..."

"Sorry dad," she mumbled, checking her watch as though she couldn't believe so much time had passed.

"Hey, no apologies from you! I love talking to you, kidlett, even if that means I gotta be up all night long. But I gotta go get ready for work... Listen, don't be a stranger, okay? You ever need something or just wanna talk or whatever you call me, okay? I don't care what time it is. Your old man'll pick up. Okay?"

"Okay dad."

"Alright, Al. I'll talk to you later."

"M'kay. Love you."

"Love you, too."

There was a moment's pause where Alex could still hear her father breathing, then a click, then the dial tone. She was quiet for a moment, holding tight to the handle of the phone, before placing it back on the phone base. She sighed heavily before glancing up to the doorway, finding her mother smiling half-heartedly at her.

"Wish you could talk to me the way you talk to him," Moriah said quietly, walking into the room to sit beside her daughter, a shadow of that shy, self-conscious teen passing along her face.

"Mom... It isn't personal or anything. He's just easy to talk to. If I was a son, I'd probably talk to you more." This was a lie, but in truth she would say anything to make her mother feel better.

"I'm not buying it, Allie. They way you sped off to talk to him... Sometimes I think it might be better if you lived with Sam instead of me."

"Oh, c'mon, mom. Now you're just being a drama queen! I love living with you and Tom, and you know that."

"Maybe... but sometimes I'm not so sure..."

"Look, I really don't want to get into this with you, okay? I love you both the same. And to be honest, it's times like this that I get the feeling that you're just trying to get me to put up some kind of wall between me and dad so that you can cut all ties from him. But that's not gonna happen, because I still love dad—even if you don't. And now I'm gonna go put my stuff up in my room and in a couple of minutes I'm gonna come back downstairs and pretend we never even had this conversation. And then we can talk about my day and everything will be okay again. M'kay?"

There was no response, nothing but a moment of complete silence. Soon, however, the fifteen-year-old had clambored to her feet, passing her mother to the doorway and then walking down the hall to the staircase. She took the steps two at a time, finally passing through the second story hall and to her bedroom. She shut the door behind her with a sharp and sudden slam—a bit harder than she had intended, but a reflection of her frustration nonetheless. She leaned back against the door, letting out a long and heavy sigh. As she glanced around the room, she smiled at the fact that it was probably the only room that had been completely unpacked and organized.

In the far corner of the room was her bed, with a TV stand across from it. But rather than a television, the stand held a pair of beautiful vintage Cerwin-Vega speakers. Atop the speakers rested two black boxes with knobs, slides and dials—a mint condition Kenwood system setup. Like icing on the cake, three final pieces of equipment were placed ontop of the stereo: a tape deck, a record player, and a CD player. The entire system was wired together to create one giant, kick-ass set up, guaranteed to—when placed in the proper hands—get the cops called out every time. It was Alex's pride and joy, and she had collected each and every piece of it with the aid of her father—something that made it all the more special to her.

Aside from the stereo system, her room was fairly normal. There was a small computer desk with a decent computer system—a monitor, keyboard, printer/scanner, modem and hard drive. Lastly was a bookcase that barely fit under the six-foot tall ceiling. It's two lowest shelves were packed tightly with a large assortment of books, while the other shelves held her music collection. Organized by whatever format the music was in—tape, vinyl or CD—and then by artist, almost any genre of music could be found there. Coupled with the hybrid stereo system, the CD collection made for a perfect distraction from a hard day, and even if today couldn't be considered a _hard_ day it had certainly been a long one. Between the new school and her mother's insecurities—insecurities that had caused more than their fair share of arguments ever since the family's move to Domino—the teen had no objection to drowning her overworked mind in music.

Dropping her book bag beside the door, the brunette crossed to the bookshelf and ran her fingers along the CD cases, eyes scanning for the perfect song to settle her mood. After a moment or two she made her selection, tugging a 'Best Of' album from its place and sliding the disc into the CD player, setting the play mode to "shuffle" before punching the "play" button. She turned the volume up loud enough to satisfy her needs without being so loud it would disturb her mother or Tom, and then plopped herself down on her bed and buried herself in her pillow.

"Oh, Creedence," she mumbled under her breath as the twanging tones of _Bad Moon Rising_ began to play. "You're not the only ones in for nasty weather..."

The brunette's eyes drifted shut as the music played on, all thoughts of descending the stairs to her mother long gone. Gradually she lost track of time, and before the song had even finished she had lost her fight with consciousness—not that she had put up much of a fight to begin with. She hardly even noticed as the final notes strummed their way into silence.

_"Don't go around tonight,_

_Well, it's bound to take your life,_

_There's a bad moon on the rise."_


	5. This Is a War

**Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to the creator and destroyer of souls, Takahashi. Glad I've gotten that off my chest.**

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Upon entering Kaiba Mansion and ascending the tall, regal staircase you would, after traveling the second floor for a few minutes, find a hallway with a towering grandfather clock at the end. This clock is approximately one hundred fifty years old, and was owned by Gozaburo Kaiba's father, and his father before him, and so on. It was originally purchased for a very small amount of money, but over time it grew in wealth and sentiment. Though once proudly displayed as a treasured Kaiba heirloom, it was now a forgotten article of the past, shoved off into a corner of the mansion. Placed to the side, much like the boy whose room was only feet away from the timepiece; a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

As the imperial clock chimed with one, two, three loud bells, the fifteen-year-old found himself bent over the sink in the bathroom adjoining his bedroom. His hands gripped either side of the porcelain basin, his pale face lowered into its depths. The normally white and spotless shine of the sink had been splattered with blood coughed from the boy's throat. As the clock struck three the brunette's eyes lifted to the mirror, trying to swallow the bile that threatened to rise once more.

Staring at his shirtless reflection through hollow eyes, one might have expected to see a body of near perfection. Pale and a bit skinny, yes, but that would have been demeaning; it was skin like porcelain and a lean figure void of anything but muscle that this body was constructed of. At least that was the assumption. But this was not what Seto Kaiba saw. Yes, there was the delicate white skin and the fit torso. But there were the finger print shaped bruises around his throat, the welts up and down his chest and waist, the bite marks and other contusions that lined his flesh.

The wounds of battle, you might say.

These injuries to the skin were no new sight. In fact, it was quite typical for Seto to see himself beaten due to Gozaburo Kaiba's belief that his stepson's body was his own private temple, or to be confronted with his stepfather's insane notions that by beating him as hard as he could for as long as he could he could convince the boy to work harder.

The beatings, however, were the least of Seto's worries. No, Gozaburo had methods of torture that made the beatings seem like swats on the hand in comparison. Methods that only his partners in business would ever have believed him capable of.

Gozaburo Kaiba was a man that Domino—along with much of Japan and other technologically advanced or war prone areas of the world—idolized. He had brought business, popularity, and importance to Domino, and in return they had put him on a pedestal. Certainly, there were a few who frowned upon him and the ill tone he had brought to the city—he was a weapons dealer after all, a war profiteer. And there were several who felt the seclusion in which he kept his stepsons could not possibly be healthy and might even be considered suspicious. But this minority was a quiet one and not of the mindset to stir up trouble.

It was only the select few who had done business with the billionaire that ever would have thought him capable of his most horrid acts. Those who had witnessed his hostile takeovers and ruthless strategies would have thought him capable of beating his only heir within an inch of the boy's life just to make a point.

And just like those businessmen, Seto knew the real Gozaburo Kaiba. Knew the abusive alcoholic that he and his younger brother lived with. He knew of the constant beatings delivered to him day after day in the name of "education" and "training." He knew of the countless bottles lying empty in the trash bins of every room in the mansion. He knew of the innumerable times his stepfather had come into his room in the dead of night, placing his calloused hands where they didn't belong, whispering words that should have been said to his wife and not his stepson, forcing Seto into 'activities' that he never would have agreed to if ever given the opportunity to tell the old man "no."

And as the years went on, Seto endured the beatings and the abuse at least every other night. And slowly but surely Seto became to desensitized to them that he felt safe in saying they were normal. Rather than fight his stepfather, he simply lay still, waiting for it all to come to an end. And when it finally did end, he would stumble into his bathroom and attempt to clean himself up. He would attempt to clean out the wounds before they became infected and threatened scars that would remind him of these nightmares for the rest of his life. Of course, these were the years gone past when Gozaburo was the only shadow he had to concern himself with.…

But in the last year, Gozaburo had implemented a brand new type of training for his stepson. Realizing that there were other men in his social circle with the same tastes in extracurricular activities, the CEO began inviting some of his most trusted businessmen and coworkers every week or so for what he liked to call his "dinner parties." These individuals would drink and laugh with the billionaire while Seto sat off in a corner, another lustful eye drawn to him with each glass of hard liquor that was poured. Inevitably the business talk would grow tiresome, and so the _real_ fun would begin.

One at a time the men would be permitted into Seto's room with an hour or two at their disposal to do whatever they wished with the boy—whatever they wished, so long as it was in line with Gozaburo's rules. Rule number one: Seto was, under no circumstance, to suffer so much that he would need to be hospitalized. Minor injuries could be tended to by Gozaburo's personal medical staff—well compensated for their silence in regards to Seto's recurring injuries; however, hospitalization was out of the question.

Rule number two: a table laden with implements and tools for sadistic use could be found within the room; any of these objects could be used, but they could use nothing that they themselves had brought without express permission from Gozaburo.

Rule number three: they would, in time, have to repay their time spent with Seto in one way or another. The boy was not free, after all. Payment might consist of extra office hours, company stocks, etcetera; the point was that whenever Gozaburo called upon his payment, it had to be met in full.

Regardless of his stepfather's rules, Seto had come to find that there were many men in the corporate world who had a taste for teenage boys and—even worse—had a thing for knives, ropes, and gags. He couldn't count the number of times he had been bound to his bed and violated, time after time after time... Though he rarely ever put up a struggle (it was a rule of his own not to excite his "clients" and encourage more force), there seemed to be something enticing to these men about making a gash or two in the skin and watching as the blood would bubble up to the surface and run over the flesh.

It would be typical for him to 'serve' six or seven people on these party nights, and usually by the time the fourth person entered the room Seto would be so exhausted that he would have little to no memory of the remainder of the night. The loss of consciousness was typical, though. Often he would wake the next morning with little recollection of what had happened, only to find himself bloody, sore, and half-bound to his bed.

It was enough to drive him mad. To know that there was a period of time which he could not account for, a period of time when strangers would do whatever they wanted with his body while he was at his most vulnerable. He would often wonder what was better: the knowing of exactly what they were doing or the not knowing. Just when he would be two or three clients deep into an evening and would be certain that not knowing this torture was infinitely better, he would pass out and, upon waking up, would be overwhelmed by a sense of panic that made him wonder what had been done to him while he was out cold.

He feared sleep. He feared the long periods of darkness that came with it, feared the not knowing. So he refused to sleep. And because of that, what sleep he got was long and deep. This only made things worse, and his fear of sleep grew. With deprivation of food being a training tactic often employed by Gozaburo and the urge to refuse sleep strong, Seto's body slowly became accustomed to the torture and malnourishment it was put through. After nearly sixteen years of his personal hell, the teen had become little more than a soul floating along in a starved and tired shell.

But he didn't mind it. Any of it. Any pain that he felt at the hands of his stepfather or the KaibaCorp businessmen or even the servants at Kaiba Mansion was worth the end result. Because in the end this life that he had chosen and embraced—a life he could have torn himself from if only he made known what had gone on in the walls of his home—was one that let him carry on with the one job he enjoyed.

So long as he did as he was told, he would still be able to take care of Mokuba.

It was Mokuba that he had thrown his childhood away for, and Mokuba that he would continue to sacrifice for. Never again would he allow them to return to that orphanage, that Hell hole. And if that meant that he would be beaten, raped, and starved then so be it. He would do anything for his brother, would die to protect him. And, of course, Gozaburo knew that.

He knew that Seto's weakest link, the only chink in his armor, was Mokuba. He knew that with the slightest threat against the boy or the smallest hint at sending him away, Seto would bend over backwards to oblige his stepfather. Seto would give up everything for his weak, naive little brother. And Gozaburo, being the business man and opportunist that he was, was quite willing to use this to his full advantage.

He couldn't be stopped. Gozaburo had his stepson at a disadvantage, and Seto knew this. No matter what the brunette did he would always be a step behind, always at his stepfather's mercy. But there _was_ a way to stop it all. To stop the beatings, the abuse, the "parties," the threats... There was a way to make it all end, and it didn't take a genius to figure out how.

All Seto had to do was take over Kaiba Corporation.

It was a tall order to make of anyone, especially a fifteen-year-old. He was endeavoring to take a multi-billion dollar corporation away from its creator and make it his own. It was going to be a nightmare to attempt it, but in truth wasn't this what Gozaburo had been training him for? Seto certainly thought so. All this time he had been crafting his stepson to think and act like him, and finally the Kaiba heir had come to the conclusion that—were he Gozaburo—he would have long ago taken Kaiba Corp away from its founder.

He knew exactly how to do it, had had the plan running through his mind for months—possibly years in his subconscious. First he had to win the Board of Directors at Kaiba Corporation over. He had to make them think that he could go through with his plan, and with their support he could make his move for power in some sense of secret. Eventually Gozaburo would catch on, but with any luck he would have the 51% of the company he needed to confront his stepfather and make his bid for power.

It was risky and gutsy, but if it all went according to plan... Seto estimated he could have joint control of KaibaCorp within months. Then he would side step the board of directors, double cross them, and have the entire company to himself. In total it would take a little less than a year.

It was the perfect way—not to mention the only way—to do it. The plan could fall apart at any moment, and then Gozaburo would make him wish he had never been born. But wasn't that what a hostile takeover was all about? Taking risks and making power plays that could ruin your business career? But all the while having the guts to do what no one else could... That's what he was going to have to do.

All he needed was a little luck and a lot of patience. But those were things he'd never had. And he couldn't see that changing any time soon.


	6. Nice to Meet You, Baby

**A/N: I'm extremely happy to present you all with Chapter 6! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and it was by far the easiest to write. Nothing was forced, and I believe that the writing can only get better from here on out. As you can see, the title has been changed from "In Thee" to "Thinking of Your Sins." If you would like a complete explanation, please visit my livejournal account (there's a link on my page). Also, I developed two new banners for this story, and links to both can be found on my profile. I'd like to see one more review, please! Now, enjoy!**

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Two weeks. It had been exactly two weeks since that first day of school, and it already seemed like a month. Days, hours melted together for every student of Domino High. New classes, new lockers, new teachers, new textbooks could only keep these teenagers occupied for so long, and by the second week, all of them were practically bored out of their minds. All of them, that is, except for Ms. Whalish's HomeEc classes. 

Ms. Whalish had made the announcement on the first Friday of school that the following week she would be handing out the instructions of the biggest project of the semester. This was to be the dreaded 'baby project.' Every pair would receive a specialized, hi-tech 'baby doll.' The doll, run by a system of rather complicated microchips and software though looking very similar to a simple Baby Born doll, was set to simulate an actual baby. It was expensive equipment, and made several students wonder how the school could afford these expensive little toys, and not be able to fix the toilet in the boy's bathroom on the second floor.

Anyhow, broken toilet and misused funds aside, the exceptional piece of machinery was passed out, one to each pair of students, along with two folders, one for each partner. The folder contained a list of everything a pair was entitled to do during the project, as well as an instruction booklet that listed how the 'baby' worked. However, when our two brunettes became parents, both of them were simply left staring at their child as it sat on their table, unmoving.

They stared at it.

It stared at them.

They blinked.

It did not.

It was then that Seto decided the best thing to do would be to poke it with a pencil, and see what it would do. As he picked up his number two and very lightly prodded the hunk of plastic with his eraser, Ms. Whalish suddenly swooped down on them like some giant pigeon of doom.

"What do you think you're doing!?" she shrieked at Seto, snatching the pencil from his hand.

"Ah..." there was, for the first time that Alex could remember in the two weeks of knowing Seto Kaiba, a moment where he was at a loss for words.

"Were you just about to poke your baby with a pencil!?"

"Uh..."

"If this were a real baby would you poke it with a pencil!?"

"I don't--"

"Would you!?"

"No."

"Well, for the next semester, this is going to _be_ your baby! You're going to have to treat it with love and care if you ever expect to pass my class!"

"But it's a piece of plastic with a few wires," Seto grumbled coldly, sick of being yelled at so early in the morning by a woman he could have fired by snapping his fingers.

"It's your A, Mr. Kaiba! If you care so much about your grade, think of it that way! Now, carry on with your work!" And with that, the bird-woman swooped away, off to examine all the other groups and their progress.

Alex, trying her hardest not to laugh at Seto's single misfortune of getting on the bad side of the one teacher notorious for loving _all_ of her students, reached forward and grabbed one of the folders, pulling it towards herself and opening it. She took out the very first worksheet and read it aloud. "'Congratulations, Alex and Seto, on receiving Baby 15-32. The first step to having a baby is, of course, to give it a name! On the space provided, please write the name you wish to use for your baby. You can choose whether it is a boy or girl! Be creative!'" Alex glanced sideways at Seto. "Er...what do we name it?"

"Why not name it 'Completely Pointless'? After all, that's what this project is... completely and utterly pointless..."

"That sounds like a wonderful name to me. However, I get the feeling that any child with the first name Completely and the middle name Pointless will be mocked for most of his or her childhood, and will need serious and very costly therapy. Not to mention the fact that Whalish will probably flunk you just for suggesting it."

Seto nodded in slight agreement as he sighed heavily. There had been an unspoken agreement between Alex and Seto sometime during the first week of school that, in order for them to make it through the school year with their sanity in tact, rather than arguing and bickering over every little thing, they would simply have to put up with each other. It was never expected that they would become friends, or even acquaintances, but that they would simply tolerate one another in HomeEc, and act like total strangers throughout the remainder of their days.

"Well, is it a boy or a girl?" Alex asked, trying to make some sort of headway.

"I don't really care...it's plastic."

"We could always say it's a she-male and give it a unisexual name."

"You mean like the name 'Alex'?" the boy said offhandedly. Alex didn't respond.

"What about 'Erin'?" Alex asked after a moment of thinking. "A boy named Erin?"

Seto shrugged. "Anything to get the process over with. Erin it is."

Alex quickly scratched out the words "Erin Kaiba" onto the 'space provided'. After writing this down, she began reading the next part aloud. "'Congratulations on naming your new son/daughter. You are now taking the first step into becoming a parent! In order to support your new family, you and your significant other will have to maintain jobs and a steady salary. Written below are the jobs that you and your spouse have, along with the average salary.'" Alex's eyes trailed down the page a ways until she found the occupations. "Um...let's see... Seto, you're a..." she cleared her throat. "Apparently, Ms. Whalish has given you the noble occupation of school counselor."

Seto rolled his eyes. "I knew she was going to try to make me get in touch with my feelings... sooner or later everyone always does."

Alex chuckled as she continued reading, looking for her own job. Once she found it, though, her laugh died away and her smile vanished. "Oh, that's messed up."

The CEO-in-training now slightly intrigued pulled his own folder forward, plucking out the worksheet Alex was staring at and skimmed the page until coming to their careers. Indeed, next to his name was written out "School Counselor" in bold print, and beside Alex's name were written the words--

"'Make up and hair specialist'..." Seto blinked, a blank look on his face. What was so wrong with that? Weren't girls supposed to like that sort of thing? Curious (not because he was actually interested in anything Alex had to say, you understand, but curious because he was simply so bored that he had nothing else to inquire to), Seto voiced his thoughts aloud. "What's wrong with that?"

"I don't know the first thing about make up and hair stuff... To my mother's dismay, I'm not the preppy, cheerleader type. I don't spend my money on buying fashion magazines, and my hair is naturally this color."

It was the first time that Seto actually noticed his partner _didn't_ wear makeup, and rather had that sort of girl-next-door beauty to her. Quickly, the brunette mentally slapped himself, swearing in several different languages about the fact that he had just thought his partner had _beauty_. He wasn't supposed to think those things. His mind was supposed to be programmed to think coldly, calculatingly, and only on the subject of work, whether it be school or company related. Never was he supposed to think that someone was even remotely attractive. It was simply not his way.

"What does it matter?" he asked quickly, trying to rid himself of these thoughts and focus on the conversation at hand. "It isn't as though we actually have to work in these positions..."

"Oh, but you're wrong Kaiba. Listen to this," and Alex read off the words printed below the occupations and salary summaries. "'Not only will the above information be important for your monetary portion of the project, but for one day you will also have to come in class with a report in hand about what is required of your job. Also, it is required that you dress in the appropriate attire that someone of this occupation would wear. There will be no exceptions, and this portion of the project will account for 10 of the overall project grade. You will need to bring a uniform that you will change into after this class is over.'"

The severity and importance of the assigned careers hit Seto with the force of a ton of bricks. He was going to have to act like a counselor... Didn't that mean that he would have to act...what was the word..._humane_? No. That was where he drew the line in the sand. No teacher or grade on earth was worth him throwing away his entire stature and way of life.

"I guess that just means we're going to have to swallow our pride for a day..." Alex grumbled, glaring at the plastic baby still sitting motionlessly before them. "At least everyone else will have to suffer with us."

"No."

It was short, direct, and to the point. He would swallow neither his pride nor his dignity for anyone. It was not his way, it was not how he had been taught. Never submit to what they tell you. Always stick to your principals and your morals. Never let them take your dignity. Never let them see you without your pride. All were maxims that had been burned into Seto's mind like the scars that had been cut into his flesh. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to come dressed as a school counselor. It was simply the fact that he _couldn't_. That it just wasn't permitted. In a way, he was a calculator: the equation "swallow dignity + swallow pride + act like a fool" had been entered into his system, and the result had been a "syntax error." It was impossible for him to simply submit to something so completely and totally ridiculous without feeling...well, raped. Raped of his pride and dignity. His virginity might have been taken from him long ago, but he still had his dignity, and that was something he would not have stolen so easily.

"'No' what?"

"No, as in, no, I'm not going to come up here and make an idiot out of myself in front of all of the other idiots. That's their job...not mine."

Alex looked sideways at her partner for a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever. It's your funeral. Let's see what's next on the list of doom, shall we?" Her eyes continued to scan the page. "Hmm... I guess we've got decent salaries, considering the fact that we have two of the dumbest jobs on earth. But personally, I'd rather be a counselor..."

Seto listened to the girl as she continued to ramble on, now simply staring at the baby with a sense of helplessness. Was it so bad, dressing like a counselor?

Yes, it was.

Surely he could come in the uniform and say _that_ was his attire. He supposed his points would be severely docked, but if they did well on the remainder of the project he could squeeze by, no problem. And there was always the Midterm to take into account, which would make up the remaining 10 of the overall grade that the project would not. He started to do the math in his head, but was suddenly interrupted by something Alex had said.

"Wait a minute... what!?" he said quickly, turning to look at her. Surely she hadn't said what he was sure that she hadn't said.

"I said that we'd probably have to get together after school to finish the project," she repeated. "There's too much work that we have to do in pairs... we won't have time do it in class, and there's a lot of interactive stuff we have to do with the doll together."

"But we're going to have the whole semester to work in class!"

"I know that, but she says right here on the worksheet that we won't have a long time to work in class, and that part of learning how to be a parent is 'taking time out of your own schedule to meet the needs of your child.'" She shook her head. "Believe me, it's not like I want to spend extra time with this doll _or_ with you. But it's the only way to get the grade. And seeing as how you're not going to wear your 'occupational attire' to school, for you to get that A you want so badly the rest of the project is going to have to be flawless."

Seto stared at her for a very long moment. The way that she had chosen her words and the tone of her voice... he couldn't tell if she was saying this because she actually _did_ want to spend extra time with him, or if she was genuinely concerned about the grade. Either way, he didn't really care. If she had some great idea to somehow get him to open up and become her friend, he knew very well that it wouldn't work, and he supposed that either way the project would be worked on and finished.

"All right..." he sighed, turning to glare at the doll once more. "I suppose we'll work outside of class then..."

"Okay, then. Where do you want to work?"

"Definitely not the Mansion," he said, turning his head to look at her once more. The words came so quickly and his head turned so swiftly that Alex wondered whether the sudden movement might have given him whiplash. She was stunned for a second or so at the sudden objection to a suggestion which had never been made, then nodded slowly.

"That's...fine... You definitely don't want to work at my house. You take one step inside and my mother will be hovering over you for the rest of the night. You'll feel like you're being interrogated for murder, trust me."

"Where else would we go then?"

"As horrible as it would be for you to be seen in public with lowlife scum such as myself," Alex pressed on, her voice heavy with sarcasm, "it sounds to me that the only place left to work is the Domino Public Library."

Seto sighed heavily for the second time that day. He hated going anywhere with the word 'public' in it. The place would more than likely be very filthy and unkempt, and 'public' always meant that there would be paparazzi lurking somewhere. The last thing Seto needed was a tabloid with his and Alex's picture on it, and the words "Kaiba's Secret Romance" printed in blaring letters on the cover. However, he supposed it would be the only place. After all, he wasn't about to bring anyone, friend or foe, around or anywhere near Gozaburo.

"Fine..." he grumbled, the bell dismissing class ringing loudly overhead. He began to gather his things together, and once on his feet, turned to face his partner once more. "The public library then. But I can never stay any longer than an hour."

"All right." Alex, too, was gathering her things. "That's fine, because neither can I."

There was an awkward silence as both sets of eyes turned to stare at the dreaded baby, still resting on the table.

"What do we do with it?" Seto asked quietly, almost as if he was afraid that if he talked too loudly the doll would start crying.

"Well...she activated the doll before she gave it to us, so it's like a ticking time bomb. The instruction booklet says it will go off any minute when it feels uncared for or unloved... There are buttons on the back that you're supposed to push to operate different parts, and there are sensors inside, so it basically knows what's going on. You push a button on the back to feed it, pat it just right to burp it, and it actually wets itself...so we'd have to actually change the diaper. It'll start crying if it hasn't been messed with in a while, or if the sensors inside determine you're holding it wrong..."

"It sounds more like a puppy than it does a baby." Seto shook his head. "Look, why don't you take it first since you seem to know how to work it. I'll read the instruction booklet later and take it from you after school."

Alex nodded, reaching out gently and plucking the doll off the table, balancing it in one hand while carrying her books in the other. She turned to ask Seto a quick question, but found that he had already left the class, along with all of the other students. It was her turn to sigh heavily as she slowly exited the class room. How was she supposed to keep this thing under control all day?


	7. Let the Complications Continue

**A/N: Well everyone, as promised, here is Chapter 7. I was glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter so much. This chapter will not be as humorous, I am sad to report, but it is simply because this story is honestly not going to be a humorous one, which you will find for yourselves as we delve deeper into the plot. However, important plot points are introduced in this chapter. (I say that all the time, and I bet it seems like these plot points are hiding from you.) Anyhow, I would like to request two reviews this time! I hope that isn't too much to ask! Keep checking up on my livejournal (my sn is alexxsam), as that is where I keep updated tabs for you readers about the progress of "Thinking of Your Sins." And now, without further ado, Chapter 7!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, save for my characters and the basic plot. Otherwise I might be getting some sleep at night, rather than spending those late, late hours writing out this stuff...**

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It was, by sheer coincidence, that Seto and Alex would have lockers placed side by side off in a far corner of the school, away from every class that they had. Normally they would've received their lockers according to the first letter of their last name. However, because they had both filed transfers in such late fashions, the school could not place them in alpha order without needing to rearrange the entire locker system. So the administration simply shoved them off into a corner, hoping that no objection would be raised. It was just as well, because the corner they had been crammed into was much less crowded than the mainstream of the school, which made locker access extremely easy for our two teens. 

So, as these two went to their lockers after their seventh period Study Hall to retrieve their books for various homework assignments, they made the decision that they might as well walk to the library together. They stuffed their bags full of books, binders and other necessary objects before turning to each other in a very resigned fashion. It was quite obvious that neither wanted to be with the other, but had come to the conclusion that sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good of an A in HomeEc.

And with that in mind, they set off at a slow walk from the school and in the direction of the Domino Public Library, both toting backpacks and Alex being the lucky one who would carry the plastic baby. The baby, thankfully, was wrapped in a baby blanket, and was hard to see. It was a small attempt at concealing the toy-pain-in-the-neck. As they walked, the younger of the two - this being Alex - made an attempt at conversation, which she could already foresee to be pointless and conflict-rendering.

"So...why did you take HomeEc anyway? I mean, it's obvious that you don't want to be in the class."

"Is it?" the other returned, the ever present chill lingering on his words.

"Just a little bit..."

"I got stuck in the class, believe it or not. No room in any other class, so they took me on... And you?"

"Um, the same..." Alex was stunned into silence for a moment. Never had her partner asked her a question that pertained to her own personal happenings or beliefs. Truth be told, it was a bit awkward for her. She stared at the ground for another moment or so as they walked, trying to think of something else to say. "I'm surprised, actually, that you couldn't just force yourself into any class... The way everyone talks about you, it sort of leads me to believe that you and your dad are the gods of Domino."

"Step-father," Seto corrected immediately, "and how exactly is it that everyone talks about me?"

"In sort of a... well, a fearful, disrespecting way, I guess. I mean, it's like they want to mock you, but they don't have the guts to."

"Oh, really?" Seto laughed under his breath, though it wasn't a real laugh. It was more of a...disdainful chuckle. "And how is it that _you_ talk about me? In the same way?"

"Nope. I'm not afraid of you. I could say whatever I want about you and it wouldn't make any difference to me whatsoever if you found out. But I don't say those horrid things about you, not like they do. I honestly don't believe in badmouthing someone behind their back." As Alex finished this sentence, Seto chuckled again. Only this time it seemed to be an honest-to-God laugh, rather than one lathered with contempt. As he did so, Alex stopped walking altogether, and Seto stopped as well. He looked to Alex as though asking what they were stopping for, but she simply stared at him in awe. "I can't believe it..."

"What?"

"You just laughed. I mean that was a _real_ laugh. Not some kind of...mocking snicker, but an actual laugh!" She continued to gape at him. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Seto Kaiba?"

"What, you didn't think I could laugh?"

"It's not that... I just didn't think you were capable of showing any real human emotion other than a cold shoulder. What could I have possibly said that would be so funny as to make _you_ laugh?"

Seto stared at her for a very long moment. He wasn't exactly sure whether he should take her reason as an insult or a complement. A complement because he was a master at hiding any trace of emotion. An insult because how dare she talk to him that way? He decided, after thirty more seconds of thought, to simply remain indifferent. He turned away from her, beginning his trudge towards the library once more.

"We should keep going," he murmured. "We're limited on time."

Alex watched him walk, and wondered if she'd said something offend him. She regained her pace, quickening it slightly to catch up with him. "I'm sorry if I said something--"

"Don't waste your apologies on me. Your words make no difference, whether you're insulting, apologizing, complementing. It makes me no difference. Either way, you're still just some girl I have to tolerate for a while, and then never see again."

She hated that. Hated the way he disregarded everything that he _should_ feel and simply turn an indifferent shoulder to it. After knowing him for two weeks and seeing the fleeting smiles and the true laughter, Alex had come to the conclusion that there was a part of Seto - somewhere deep, deep _deep_ inside - that held some sort of humanity. And she had made a determined decision that, by Christmas, she would force him to express that part of himself. Only moments before she had thought that she had touched home with something, but almost as soon as she attacked his cold shell, he withdrew within said shell once more. It was another decision made by this determined brunette that Seto Kaiba's new nickname - whether he knew it or not - was Turtle boy, for just like a turtle he carried his shell with him where ever he went, and shrank inside it whenever he felt threatened. So her eyes turned to "Turtle boy" once more as she decided on a different approach to conversation.

"Fine, whatever. We're spending time together for the grade, not because we want some type of bonding experience. Speaking of the grade, maybe we should actually do some talking about this baby since _you're_ the one who said that _you_ would take it home tonight."

"I did say that didn't I?" Seto sighed, though the actual words running through his mind were _Damn it, she remembered..._

"Yes you did. So, here's the basic information." She held the baby out, pulling the small blanket and jumper it was wearing down to reveal it's plastic back, covered in a jumble of English and Japanese writings, both of which detailing the electrical hazards of this toy and where to put the batteries. Above this section of worthless scripture was a small, flesh colored sliding panel. Alex popped this panel open by pulling on a small indention in a motion somewhat similar to taking the battery cover off of a TV remote. The absence of the panel revealed a complex system of odds and ends. There was an odd, rectangular and frosted piece of plastic that acted as a covering for what appeared to be a system of complex wiring, and below this was a similar rectangle, save that it was vertical and had an apparatus similar to that of a level, but instead of a bubble, a green orb was present within the slider. Below these two oddities resided two flesh colored buttons about the size of pennies, both side by side, and below those was an odd looking, flesh colored dial. Finally, were six minuscule light bulbs, which were lined up horizontally below all of the other oddities.

"Alright, here's the basics of this thing. The instruction booklet reads like Greek, so I'm just going to tell you what I could figure out. This right here-" and as she spoke, she pointed to the frosted rectangle, "-is a 'burping sensor.' Apparently, you have to tap it to burp the baby, and the wires you see there are sensors connected to the plastic, which can tell exactly how hard you're pushing on the plastic and how fast. Basically, if you burp it the wrong way, the baby will start crying. It's a really strong sensor, and it can operate through the back covering, which I think means it'll also respond if you start squishing the doll really tightly. So... I guess that means you have to be careful with how you hold it.

"Next up," and she pointed to the vertical rectangle below the burping sensor, "is the gravitational slider. This thing will determine if you're holding the baby correctly, and if you're not, the thing will start crying. Believe me, I figured that one out the hard way during second period Orchestra."

"You take orchestra?" Seto interrupted, glancing up at Alex for a moment. She nodded, hardly breaking her concentration from the pathetic plastic doll.

"Below the sensors you have two flesh colored buttons. The one on the left is the feeding button. You press that to simulate feeding the baby. That'll work in cooperation with the vertical slider, so if you're feeding it upside down, it'll get sick."

"It can get sick?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I haven't gotten there yet, so hold on. The button on the right is the emergency override button. There's always a way to figure out how to stop the baby's crying, but If you can't figure out exactly what's wrong, then you push the button. It'll automatically stop crying, but it'll add to the baby's mood-o-meter, and it'll get fussy easier."

"There's a mood-o-meter?" he asked even more incredulously than before.

"Yeah, now stop getting ahead of me! This dial here is a volume control. You can turn it up louder or quieter, but you can't put it on mute just to ignore it, which I suppose is why there's a manual override. Finally, you've got these six light bulbs here. They each play a specific purpose. The first five on the left are the mood-o-meter. Because this is supposed to simulate a real baby, it has to have it's mood swings. So, these lights will help you determine what mood it is in. It goes from left to right. Farthest left is dark green, then light green, then yellow, light red, dark red. The booklet says it's best to keep it in the green, which means it's happy, and it won't cry as much. The red means it's fussy, and it'll cry a lot more. This last bulb, the farthest away from the others, is a blue light bulb. It comes on when the baby is sick. The book doesn't really specify what to do if it gets sick, so I'm thinking it's best we just don't let that happen." She slid the back panel on again, pulling the baby's jumper and blanket back up.

"I suppose that's it, then?" Seto asked a bit sarcastically. To his dismay, Alex shook her head.

"Actually, no. It's a lot more complicated than that. It's got a lot of internal wiring and stuff, so it sort of has a brain. It's got enough memory to where, if you take care of it _really_ well, by the end of the semester it might no how to say a word or two. It has a frequency generator, meaning it can pretty much tell if you're yelling at it or baby-talking it by reading your voice pattern. Then it has an internal storage place which supplies it with enough stuff to produce spit up and allow it to wet it's diaper... According to one of the fliers, everyday Whalish is going to refill the storage space so that it can be ready to poop, pee, and vomit for another day..." She shook her head. "This is gonna be a lot harder than we thought..."

"I see that," Seto confirmed, shaking his head. "I can't believe I actually have to do this, though..."

"Why? Is parenting beneath the Great and Mighty Seto Kaiba?"

"I never said that," he shot quickly.

"I bet you that this baby won't last a week with you. You'll probably have it on 'irritable' by tomorrow."

"You're wrong there. I'm good at everything. Parenting should be a piece of cake."

"Uh-huh, sure. Tell you what, then, moneybags. You take this baby home and you keep it with _you_ for tonight, just as we agreed earlier. Tomorrow night, I'll take it home. Then we'll see who's the better parent by comparing the mood-o-meter. Fair enough?"

"Sounds fair. I should warn you though. I'm good at everything."

"You just said that."

"I--" Seto began, quite sure that he had a witty retort stored somewhere in his mind. However, he was never able to deliver such retort due to the fact that, as they were just about to enter the library, a horn honked out from the main road, approximately 200 feet away. Both Seto and Alex turned their heads to see a black, stretch limo in idle out on the curb. All of the tinted windows were rolled up, save for one, and through this single window could be seen a man with graying hair, bushy, gray eyebrows and mustache, and dark brown eyes that could bore through your eyes and glare devilishly and maliciously into your very soul.

Why, it was none other than Gozaburo Kaiba.

Seto felt his entire body freeze up with a mix between terror and simple shock. He quickly looked to Alex, and for the very first time she could've sworn she saw something called 'fear' in those blue orbs. "Listen, I need you to take the doll tonight."

"But--"

"No buts, just listen to me. Take this thing tonight and I'll take it for the rest of the week, just take it tonight." Seto seemed to almost plead with her, though she never would've voiced this observation aloud. The younger was about to ask him if something was wrong when the most impossible word slipped out of his mouth: "_Please_."

Very slowly, the brunette's head nodded and she tightened her hold on the baby simply for something to hold on to. This was so unlike Kaiba. Normally he would've shot at her with some snide remark, or might have threatened her if she refused to take it. But never in a hundred years would she have ever believed that he would plead with her over it.

"O...okay..." she said very quietly, her voice a near whisper. "I'll...I'll take it..."

"Good," and the elder's head nodded. "I have to go. I'll see you at school tomorrow..." He turned to walk to the limo, but Alex reached her hand out and touched Seto's arm. He froze again, his eyes falling to her hand on his sleeve.

"Seto...are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he murmured quickly, yanking his arm away from her. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he quickly, yet regally walked his way to the limo, leaving Alex to stare after him, hoping that he really was fine.

They had been sitting in the limo in utter silence. Seto stared out the window on his side of the car, and Gozaburo stared out his own window. They had been riding like this for a good five minutes, and had another twenty-five to go until the limo would reach Kaiba Mansion. Just when Seto was sure that this horrid silence would drive him insane - that it was nearly worse than talking to the man beside him - his step-father began speaking, and the young brunette wished that the silence would return.

"Who was that girl with you, Seto?" his voice was cold, slow, deep. Just like always. And cold. Absolutely ridden with that cold, bitter tinge of hatred.

"Just some girl from school. No one important."

"Not a girlfriend, I hope."

"No. Never."

"Good." There was a moment of relieved silence, but Gozaburo was soon speaking again. "You know, now that I think about it, a girlfriend for you might not be such a bad thought."

Seto's eyes closed in a mental sort of pain that went unnoticed by his step-father.

"It might do well for your image, actually. So long as you had no real feelings for the girl, it might actually do you some good. Give you a sort of humanity in the public eye. First you enroll in regular schools, then you get yourself a girlfriend. What's next for the heir to the Kaiba throne?" A low chuckle erupted from Gozaburo's frame as he looked to his son, and Seto's wince had been replaced by a wry smile. "You might should look into it, Seto."

"Whatever you think is best," the teenager replied, nodding his head once in somewhat of a bow.

"Yes, it might be a good idea. But we'll discuss it a bit more later. When I was told that you would not be arriving home on time, I decided that I would come see why. I did not expect to see you rendezvousing with some girl."

"We had to do work for a school project, due to the fact that the teacher is not allowing us sufficient time to work in class. I had fully intended, however, to get some of the work done that you had assigned me while at the library. I had some of it with me in my backpack, you see?" And to aide his argument, he fished several sophisticated manila folders filled with files and rubber banded shut from his backpack and displayed them to his step-father. "As I promised before, I will not allow my attending a public school to interfere with any of my trainings."

"Very well, I see your reasons for staying late are sufficient enough. You will be needing to stay after more than once, won't you?"

"Yes, but I still intend to take your work with me to perform while I aide my partner with our project."

"It's refreshing to see you be able to balance so many tasks at once."

Seto nodded his head, knowing that the words 'I am proud' would never follow. Just as he knew that those words would not follow, he also had assumed that the words that _did_ follow would come soon enough. The same words which had caused Seto to plead with Alex to take that stupid doll with her, rather than him.

"Speaking of your trainings, though, I more importantly came to make sure that you would not be staying rather late. I am arranging a get together tonight with several of the social elite from our sister companies, including one in particular, who has just moved to the city only a week or so ago. He will be most anxious to _meet_ you."

There was a rather cold influence put on the word 'meet.' Seto knew very well that this man didn't want to 'meet' him. He wanted to '_meet_' him, as in 'meet you in your bed and take whatever I can get in an hour's time.' The blue-eyed teen had known that this topic would come up the moment he had first laid eyes on his step-father waiting in the limo. After all, why else would he be there? To simply check on his son's wellbeing? Of course not.

So as the two emerged into another long silence, which would last the remaining seventeen minutes until they arrived at the Kaiba Mansion, Gozaburo was mentally calculating the amount of money he would gain from the coming night, and Seto wondered if he was going to be well enough to attend school the next day.


	8. A Very Bad Thing

**A/N: I am very sorry to everyone/anyone who has been eagerly awaiting this chapter. In early June I took on a summer internship and have only just gotten back to writing. Not only has the internship been keeping me from writing, but a nasty case of writer's block still plagues my every waking moment. Half of this chapter was written before my absence, and the other was written recently. Major brownie points to anyone who can identify where the time shift occurred. Anyway, I'm going to tell you right now that the majority of this chapter is completely rubbish and I've been racking my brain to find ways to make the story move faster. After all, I'm sure that you guys are getting a little bored. But just wait: one day soon I'm going to wake up at 3:00 a.m. with a sudden epiphany and I won't be able to sleep for a good 24 hours. After all, that's usually what happens anymore... As a warning, Seto is a bit OOC by the end of this, but just consider it a case of pent up rage. So, without further adieu, your chapter!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, save for my characters and the basic plot. Otherwise I might be getting some sleep at night, rather than spending those late, late hours writing out this rubbish.**

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He was almost late to school the next day. He had slept in, never thinking to set his alarm clock. Why would he have thought to set it? After all, he had been a bit preoccupied, with the constant visits of strange people every hour of the night. It had begun at 10:00 that night, right after all of the maids and butlers and such had retreated to their quarters in the back of the house. Gozaburo had allowed them places to stay, but had made sure it was in a separate building a good deal away from the house. Seto had always supposed it was to prevent them from hearing the screaming. That is, when he had the energy to scream... But like clockwork, at exactly 9:50, Gozaburo had taken Seto to the room on the third floor. He had been told to wait at the bed, just like every other 'party night.' Seto had done as he was told, sitting on the edge of the stained sheets. Sure enough, ten minutes later a man had slowly walked into the room, locking the door behind him. Seto had seen this man before several times, at meetings and in this room. The rest was just as it had always been. Every hour the current visitor would leave, only to be replaced by a new visitor. This went on for what the brunette supposed was a good five hours. By one a.m., Seto had nearly been unconscious, no longer aware of the faces or the time gone by. He only knew the pain... At three, when it was all over, he had tried to walk to the bathroom, but never made it. Rather, he had collapsed on the cold tile of the bathroom floor and staid there.

Mokuba had woken him the next morning minutes before he was supposed to leave. Quickly, the fifteen-year-old had stumbled to his feet, dashing around to ready himself for school. He had dressed quickly with not time to shower, and had worked to wash the wounds from the night before with a cloth as he ran out the door. Mokuba had stayed behind, seeing as how his own schooling at Domino Junior High didn't start for another hour. As the chauffeur drove (a little over the speed limit, mind you, to make it to the school on time), Seto tried to perfect his appearance in the back seat. Pulling at his clothes, he was trying to accomplish two things. One: eliminate the very obvious wrinkles in his uniform. Two: cover the newly formed cuts on his arm. By the time the limo had pulled into the school drive, Seto had stepped out of his limo with back pack in tow just as regal and perfect as ever. No matter what the circumstances, Seto Kaiba was good at being both regal _and_ perfect.

Seto had made it a habit to always be the first one to every class. It had simply become a pattern: no reason to stop and talk in the halls and no where to detour off to, so he would head directly to class and always managed to be there first. Seto had even taken to lecturing teachers about not being at their classes when appropriate, because several times he, a student, had arrived at the classroom _before_ the teacher and had been left waiting in the hall to be let inside. It had become rather bothersome and annoying to stand in the hallway with several books and binders in hand. So it was no wonder when, after making it to HomeEc only seconds before the tardy bell rang, Alex had met his eyes with a very odd stare. He pretended not to notice.

"Where were you?" she asked quietly, pulling her 'Baby Folder' out of her backpack.

"Elsewhere," the elder returned, pulling his own folder out. "How's the plastic?"

"Just fine. He's on 'light green.' Why were you so late?"

"Because I had a hectic morning. Light green is good right?"

"Yes, it means he's happy, which is good considering he started out on light red, or unhappy. Did your being late have anything to do with your taking off like you did yesterday?"

"That's none of your concern is it?" He finally looked up at her with a cold glare. She had no business meddling in his affairs, and if she didn't understand that then he would gladly communicate this fact to her.

"I suppose it isn't." Alex quickly looked away from him, gently picking the baby off of the table and turning it around to pull down the blanket and remove the back panel. She pressed the 'feed' button, holding it in the proper position that the diagram in the instruction booklet had displayed. She wanted to say something... but it wouldn't even matter. If she asked him if he was alright, then he would snap at her. That's what he did every time she tried to show any sign of compassion or human emotion for him. Of course, she'd become used to that... "So, you're taking it tonight, right?"

"Hmm?"

"You said that if I took the thing last night, then you'd take it for the rest of the week. Remember?"

"Oh...yeah... now I remember." Seto sighed, shaking his head. Exactly how desperate had he been yesterday? Apparently desperate enough to carry around a hunk of plastic for a week... He glanced over to the plastic baby for a moment, then to Alex. There was a huge smile plastered across her face. "What...?"

"You _actually_ think I'm going to let you keep this thing for a week? Knowing you, it would probably die."

"It can die?"

"I don't know, but I'm still not letting you look after it for a week. Look, we had a deal that you would look after it last night and I would look after it tonight. But since I looked after it last night, you can look after it tonight. Then I'll take it tomorrow. We'll just trade off every day. Sound fair?"

"Yeah, sounds wonderful. Thing is there are going to be times when I _can't_ watch it. I actually have other things to do in life than watch after this thing." He poked the baby with his eraser tip, and instantly glanced around for any sign of Ms. Whalish. Seto had already learned the hard way that the woman had a tendency to overreact when it came to ugly formations of human-like plastic.

"Yes, yes, you're heir to a bajillion dollar corporation and have lots of training and what not. I've heard the story. If you can't watch it, then I will, and you can just take it for two days the next time." Alex placed the plastic onto the desk and gently shoved it towards Seto. "See? Problem easily remedied. Now take your son."

Seto sighed heavily, pulling the plastic a bit closer with one finger. It was times like last night, and times like this, that convinced him that either: a) there was no God, or b) God got a sick high out of torturing him. The strange part wasn't God's malicious mockery, if indeed that was exactly the source of Seto's bad fortunes, but the fact that Seto was able to compare being continuously raped to a tedious school project. It must've been the constance of it all... The events of the previous night were so normal to him, it was easy to compare a school project to. And that was the saddest fact of all...

As Alex began scribbling away at some of the papers for the project, Seto let out another resigned sigh. After drumming his fingers on the table for a moment, the teen decided that rather than watch his parter working he would at least get some of his own work done. Instead of pulling out his own 'Baby Folder,' he extracted a thick manila envelope from his back pack, which was one of the files he was working on for Gozaburo. There was no point in wasting time anyway. So Alex continued with her work, and Seto continued with his. This went on for a good ten minutes when there was a sudden ironic and unexpected interruption.

"Well, well, what do we have here!?" Ms. Whalish shrieked over Seto's shoulder, causing him to slap his hands over his ears. God, could that woman possibly be any more annoying? Part of him believe it was possible... "Do I have a student working on work from _another_ class!?"

"No," the brunette replied quickly, "you don't."

"Why, I think I do! And I thought I made it quite clear that I don't allow free time for you to work on other classwork!"

"I don't really remember covering that..."

"Silence! And I'll be taking _this_!" Her hand thrashed out in an instant, and suddenly the folder was clutched within her badly-manicured fingers. "You will not be getting it back."

"What!?" Seto stood up quickly. So quickly, in fact, that his chair flew backwards.

"There is no free time in this classroom, Mr. Kaiba! You will just have to learn that the hard way. Also, you will _not_ be getting this back."

"That's absurd! It isn't work for some other pathetic class! Those are files of the utmost importance, and they are property of Kaiba Corp! Now give them back!" By now the CEO-to-be was shouting at the teacher, and the entire class was staring at the two of them. Alex, on the other hand, was only staring at Seto. Was he _insane_? You didn't yell at a teacher, no matter who you were. That is, unless you were prepared to be suspended... Then you could yell all you wanted. But in Seto's case, she was sure it was a bad idea.

"Seto," she whispered very quietly, "just sit down. You _really_ don't want to do this..."

"Wrong! I _do_ want to do this! This woman obviously doesn't realize who she's dealing with!" Seto's head snapped back to Ms. Whalish. He didn't need this. He'd had a horrible night, a horrible morning, and he wasn't at all in the mood for any bullshit from the likes of this woman. However, he knew that he needed to at least try to tone it down just a bit. His voice calmed slightly, enough for the volume to lower, but other than that, he was still plenty frustrated. "Listen, Whalish, I understand that your being a HomeEc teacher is the only true meaning you have in life. That, compared to the greater scheme of things, you're really just one insignificant speck on the window of life, or whatever other meaningless metaphor you would like to use to compare your pointless existence to the likes of the greater few. You obviously don't understand the importance of those files. Now, if you just hand them over then we won't have anything to worry about." His voice rose slightly as his anger got the better of him. "But if you absolutely insist on being a horribly bitter and irritating bitch, then might you at least allow me to retrieve some Kleenexes so that I may use them to plug my ears and rid myself of hearing your constant ranting and raving about God knows what, when all of this could have and still can be avoided if you will simply give me back the damn file!"

The following two minutes contained pure silence. Not a soul moved, and it was a wonder if anyone even breathed. Seto simply stared at Ms. Whalish with a look of absolute loathing, and Ms. Whalish looked back with a mix of fear and surprise. All of the other students stared at Seto with total fear, and Alex simply stared up at him with a look of awe. For someone who never showed any sign of human emotion, Seto had definitely just shown a new side.

Once Ms. Whalish was able to recover from her surprise and fear, she managed to stammer out several words. "Kaiba, Principal's office, right now!" Her voice was shrill and nervous, but quite demanding. Her free hand - the one that wasn't clutching the manila folder - lashed out and grabbed hold of Seto's arm in a vice-like grip. She pulled him towards the door, and now that he was over his little outburst, Seto knew better than to fight against her. Because, for the first time, he just realized what had happened. He hadn't been yelling at a maid or employee... he had been yelling at his _teacher_. And, if he was correct, you weren't supposed to yell at teachers.

But as his eyes slid back to Alex just before he was dragged out of the room, and as he saw the new fear in her eyes, he suddenly realized something. He was going to the Principal's office, which meant that a parent or guardian would be called. And if Gozaburo was called and told that he, Seto Kaiba, had had a horrible and rather vulgar outburst in class... it made Seto shudder to think of the consequences. And as Whalish shoved him into a chair in front of the Principal's office and stormed into the office, Seto realized what kind of trouble he was in. And that was when the fear first showed in him, as it washed over him like an ocean's wave.

This was a very bad thing.


	9. Who Gives A Damn About My Bad Reputation

**A/N: Well, it was certainly nice to get such encouraging reviews from everyone on such a worthless chapter. I'm still convinced it's crap and yet (so far) it's tied for 'most reviewed chapter.' Hmm... Anyway, I realized one person pointed out that Seto was a bit OOC, and I knew that the moment and I started writing, but I was always relying on the good old 'teenage hormone' fallback. The previous chapter is going to try to slowly and stealthily sneak into the abyss, but don't forget about it. Eventually it will come back to bite us all. Especially Kaiba... This is going to seem like a pretty pointless chapter right now, but again, like the last, it's important and opens up room for the story to progress. Oh, and for all of you who keep going 'I can't wait to see what happens between Seto and Alex!' Be prepared. It might be happening sooner than you think. On a final note, I wrote this chapter at 3:00 a.m. and, because my computer recently crashed, I'm using a desktop and all I can work with is notepad and my e-mail's built in spell check. So please bear with me! Two reviews please?**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, save for my characters and the basic plot. Otherwise I might be getting some sleep at night, rather than spending those late, late hours writing out this rubbish.**

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The two brothers sat quietly on the oldest one's bed. Neither said anything, for there had already been enough talking. The younger was shaking uncontrollably, and the older was simply sitting in pure astonishment. After all, he had never been this lucky. _Never._

After being taken to the Principal's office earlier that day, Gozaburo had, of course, been called. However, by the grace of whatever God existed, the CEO had stepped out for the morning and would not be returning, for his schedule was chalked full of meetings. The secretary then put the principal through to Gozaburo's voice mail, and what Seto considered to be a very crude and condescending message was left. Seto was then ordered to return to class.

He spent the entire day dreading the end of seventh period when he would be expected to gather his things and walk out to the school drive, where there would be a black limo waiting and an angry man in the back. There would be one of two things: either the coldest of silences, and then one of the worst punishments of his life; or there would be lots of yelling and the one of the worst punishments of his life. Either way, he knew for a fact that it would end in bruises, bleeds, and a lot of pain for himself.

It was no surprise that, when Seto finally did have to walk out to the school drive at the end of the day, he almost passed out when no limo was there waiting. And suddenly the thought occurred to him. He saw Alex wave to him, but paid her no mind. She obviously thought he was still going to show at the library that afternoon, but that was not the case. No, the brunette had broken into a breakneck run and was currently sprinting into the deeper city of Domino, all the while his paces leading to Kaiba Corp. There was no time to call a ride as it would take too long to get there. He could only run and hope that he would make it...

Half-an-hour later of non-stop running, Seto stood before the secretary who sat out in front of Gozaburo's office. Struggling to compose himself, the young teen spluttered a 'Has he returned from his meetings yet?' and when the secretary gave a wearied 'No,' Seto nodded and murmured something about letting himself in to retrieve some important documentation for work that needed to be done. Moments later he had been within Gozaburo's office and had navigated through his voice mail. He saved all of the messages as 'New' except for one: the message from the principal. That had been deleted. After erasing the message Seto had shuffled threw folders on Gozaburo's desk until he came upon the originals of the documents that had been confiscated by Ms. Whalish, and copies were made.

In five minutes, Seto Kaiba had managed to erase his first big high-school blunder. Gozaburo would never need know.

So now Seto and his brother sat on his bed, staring at the floor. Mokuba was shaken up from how close of a call it had been... Seto had, after all, explained the whole event to him after the youth had enquired as to whether or not Seto had heard about 'the kid that exploded in HomeEc?' Apparently it had been such a phenomenon that the story had been passed all the way down into the lower grades before the day was even over. But the story had been over exagerated a tad, as it now involved the 'kid' turning into the Incredible Hulk and launching a desk through a window...

Both of them jumped as a telephone on Seto's nightstand rung. He had no idea who would be calling, because no one ever called the house number, only Gozaburo's personal number he had set up in his at-home-office. Still a bit too stunned to even move, Seto remained seated on the bed and Mokuba rose to his feet, walking to the phone. He picked the phone up off it's base and turned it on, pressing the speaker to his ear.

"Hello, Kaiba Mansion, Mokuba Kaiba speaking." There was a moment of silence. "Yes, he's here. What did you say your name was? Alright, hold on one moment, please." Mokuba placed a hand over the receiver and glanced over to his elder brother. "Seto, there's some girl for you on the phone. She says her name is Alex Fides. Do you know her?"

Seto looked to his younger brother, a blank look on his face. Alex was calling...? How did she get his number? Better yet, what the hell did she want? Quickly he moved over to the phone and took it from Mokuba motioning him to sit back down on the bed and that everything was fine.

"Alex?"

"Seto! Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah...fine..."

"Good, because the way you left school and everything I thought that something was really wrong and--"

"How did you get this number?" His voice was clear and cold, and it was obvious to Alex that he was over whatever had been wrong earlier.

"Have you even looked at the folder for our baby projects? Ms. Whalish wrote everyone's partner's phone number on the inside of the folder, right beside the partner's name."

"Oh she did? How convenient... Look, I'm really busy right now, and--"

"It's your turn."

"What?"

"To watch the baby. It's your turn."

"Yeah, but you said that you'd watch it if I couldn't and I _really_ can't tonight."

"Just because you turned into a psychopath in first period doesn't mean you can just skive off and ditch the thing. I know that you're convinced that the whole world revolves around you, Kaiba, but it doesn't. And if I'm the only person to point that out to you then by God I'm going to do it."

Seto didn't respond. After all, he'd never actually heard her talk so brutally to him before. Sure, maybe she'd been a bit cocky or catty or whatever the hell you wanted to call it but not like that. He had a prepared statement waiting in the wings, however, but she quickly cut him off.

"Now do you want to meet me at the library or do you want me to come to your...whatever you live in? House? Mansion? Building?"

"Ah... look, I can't--" But Seto stopped in mid-sentence. A noise from downstairs... it was the front door opening and closing. Gozaburo had to be home. "Alex, listen to me, I cannot watch this stupid thing tonight. Just...just trust me on this you do _not_ want to come over here. Just watch the thing tonight and I'll take it to classes with me tomorrow and everything. You've got to believe me, though, I can't watch this thing..."

"That's what you said yesterday. I'm starting to get the feeling that you just don't want to do the work. But if you don't take it home tomorrow then I swear to God I'll come down there and make you take it."

"Yeah, fine. That's fine. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

And with that the line went dead. Alex stared at the phone she now held in her hand, her look a disgusted one. She stretched out on her bed, folding her hands behind her head.

_This is getting to be a real pain in the ass... 'I'll take it all week, Alex'... 'I'll take it to class and everything, Alex'... God, Alex, you're starting to be a real pushover. Letting this guy tell you what to do. So what if he's a CEO-in-training? He's a friggin' jerk and he needs someone to show him what the real world is like. It isn't a cushy lifestyle like he's probably used to... It's a big mess out there... And one day money and causing fear isn't going to get him what he wants. Someone needs to show him that... Somebody..._

Alex sighed heavily as she picked up the remote to her stereo system and pressed play. A moments silence as the CD loaded, and then 'Bad Reputation' by _Joan Jett and the Blackhearts_ began to play. The girl was quiet for a moment, listening to the music... Finally, though, she sat up, eyes narrowed slightly.

_I don't give a damn what Kaiba says. He's going to take that doll tonight whether he likes it or not. He's going to do part of this report, no matter who he is._

_That's it._

_End of story._


	10. Three Little Abnormalities

**Author's Note: Hey, look whose back! It's me! I know that you are all overjoyed to see me. After those touching notes left to me as a result of my Author's Note Chapter, I decided to push on, forget the rewrite, and see what I could do. I spent approximately three hours on this chapter, and I'm just now finishing it at 1:00 a.m. (I've gotta wake up in a few hours, so I'm not exactly cheerful). However, I feel somewhat good about this chapter, since I haven't written anything for this story in several months. Anyway, I hope that you all like this, and that it is a good comeback after a long hiatus. I now give you chapter 10. Please enjoy.**

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**Disclaimer: I own nothing, save for my original characters and the basic plot. Otherwise, I'd be asleep right now.**

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_Gozaburo Kaiba glared down at Seto, towering over him with the most menacing of looks on his face. A wicked smile played across his lips as he watched the boy cower on the floor. It was moments like these that pleased Gozaburo, gave him that rush of power and adrenaline. Even so, he had not committed this punishment because he enjoyed it; at least, not tonight. No, tonight had been punishment. After all, Seto hadn't _actually _thought that he was going to get away with his little explosion at school, had he? Oh, Gozaburo was no idiot. He had been waiting for something like this to happen. After all, his "son" was superior to those feeble minded minions of the educational system, and it was only a matter of time before Seto realized that and lost his temper with their idiocy. He was not going to take the boy out of school, though. He simply wanted Seto to realize that he would never be able to lie to his father._

_"I'm always going to know everything that you're doing, Seto. Always. No matter what precautions you take to cover your tracks, I will always know. Keep that in mind the next time you think you can sneak around."_

_The powerful giant stared down at the boy for a moment or two longer, and then turned on his heel, crossing the room in only a few great strides until he reached the door._

_"I'm going back to Kaiba Corp. We're about to try to pull an all-nighter on some imperative work. I only dropped by to have this little... _chat_ with you. I would invite you to come with me, but you don't look so well. I think you should just stay here and get a good night's rest. Yes, that would be best. Good night, Seto. Have a pleasant evening."_

_And those were the last words that Gozaburo said before storming his way through the vacant house, through the front door, slamming it so hard that it bounced back open, striding to his limo, and then leaving. Behind him, he left the crippled, bloody form that was his step-son. Oh, what a good father was he. _

Alex hiked up the long drive way in complete silence. Slung over her shoulder was her backpack, the plastic baby safely tucked inside and cushioned by a small make-shift pillow (created from a fluffy bath towel) to keep it from crying. She had been walking for a good hour now, and she figured it was almost eleven o'clock. Nevertheless, she had reached her breaking point. She was going to get into that infamous "Kaiba Mansion" one way or another, even if she had to start throwing rocks at windows. And if that said-to-be-heartless Gozaburo wanted to give her any grief, she would have a few words to say about his step-son that just might put things into perspective.

On her way out, a long black limo had passed her, and she wondered if Seto might have been in it, or if it was Gozaburo Kaiba. But when Alex first saw the mansion perched on top of its little hill, all thoughts of the limo vanished and she found herself frozen in place. It really was a mansion, not a dramatization or simply a name that passed through the city, and it was a beautiful one at that. She quickly forced herself to recover from the shock, though, and to push on with her mission. It was imperative that she get all of this over with. After all, her mother and Thomas did not even know that she had left the house. It would be best if she could make the visit short, sweet, and then get back to her house.

The brunette was surprised that there were no cars in the long driveway, but she assumed that they might have been parked in what she guessed was an extremely garage which she had spotted around the side of the mansion. It took all of ten minutes to make her way across the entire driveway and up to the house, and another two minutes to find the door. Once she had located the door, though, she was surprised to find the door left ajar. Perhaps whoever had been in the limo had been in a rush to leave and forgotten to shut the door? To Alex it didn't matter. She knocked on the door, though she didn't think it would do much good. After a moment or two she stuck her head past the door and into the house, glancing around. She saw a large, open entry way which branched off in several directions, and had a gigantic staircase near the back. However, there was no sign of any maids, butlers or other sources of life.

"Hello?" Alex called, speaking somewhat quietly at first as if she was afraid that someone might actually hear her. When her call received no response, she pushed the door open and stepped over the thresh hold, shutting the door behind her, and called somewhat louder, "Hello, is there anybody here!?"

Silence.

"Great," she murmured aloud to herself, taking a few more steps into the entryway as she spoke. "He probably isn't even here! God, what a load of crap. I am so sick of this guy..."

Alex turned on her heel, prepared to start her trek back home, when a sudden blur of black hair tackled her and knocked her into the door. She could feel a pair of small fists pounding into her back, and could feel tiny grunts of anguish from what sounded like a child. The teenager quickly turned, grabbing hold of the attacking fists and forcing her attacker off of her so that she may see exactly what was going on. Finally getting a good grip on the wrists of her attacker, she managed to see that he was a small child with long, messy black hair and shining, gray eyes. The child struggled against her hold, starting to shout.

"Let go of me! Lemme go!!!"

"Why did you just do that!?" Alex growled, holding tight to the child. She didn't know who he was, or what was going on for that matter, but she was prepared to get answers.

"Lemme go!!!"

"Tell me what's going on and I will!"

"Ugh!!!" The boy struggled for a moment more, but realized that his efforts were futile. He finally stopped, panting slightly, and turned his teary eyes to glare at Alex. "I want you to leave my brother alone! He's already hurt enough! He doesn't need anymore punishment tonight! Please, just leave him alone!"

"What are you talking about?" Alex gasped, brow furrowing in confusion. This must be Seto's little brother, Alex thought to herself, despite the obviousness of the fact. She could remember hearing something about Seto having a little brother, but had paid it little mind. There were so many rumors about Seto that she had stopped believing anything unless it came from his own mouth, and even that was becoming unreliable lately. "You're Seto's little brother aren't you?"

"Yes..." the boy sniffled, rubbing his nose. He seemed scared, angry, and sad all at once, and Alex suddenly felt a wave of sympathy crash over her.

"What's your name?" she asked softly, bending down on one knee to come down to his level. He stared at her apprehensively for a moment.

"Mokuba... Mokuba Kaiba."

"Mokuba? Well, Mokuba, my name is Alex Fides. Wait a minute... You're the boy who picked up the phone earlier, aren't you? I called and asked to talk to Seto, remember?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm... I'm sort of a friend of Seto's..."

"Seto doesn't have any friends."

"So I've heard." Alex shook her head. "Seto is my partner in HomeEc class. We're doing a project together, and I came over to give Seto his work." Alex fell silence for a moment, a thought occurring to her. "What did you say earlier? Something about him being hurt enough? What did you mean?"

"He's..." The boy stopped short, as though he did not want to tell her.

"Mokuba, if Seto is hurt then I can help. Tell me what's going on." She was quiet for a moment, then released the boy from her grip. "There. See, I'm not going to hurt you. Now tell me what's going on. Where's Seto?"

Mokuba was silent for a moment, staring at Alex as though wondering whether or not it was safe to trust her. Finally, and still somewhat reluctantly, he reached out his small hand and wrapped it around three of Alex's fingers. He slowly began leading her towards the stairs, up a single flight to the second floor, and then down several hallways. He led her to a hallway with a large grandfather clock at the end, and began taking her to the end of the corridor. He stopped just before reaching the clock and turned left so that he was facing a door that, like the front door, was ajar. However, that was where he stopped.

"Seto says I'm not supposed to go inside," the small boy said in a rather meek voice. However, he looked up at Alex expectantly as though he expected her to enter the room. The brunette looked down at the raven-haired child for a moment, then took off her backpack, putting down on the floor next to the boy and slowly stepping toward the door. She reached out her somewhat shaking hand and placed it on the doorknob, gingerly pushing the door open. She was afraid of what she would see, of what had gone on in this room, of why Mokuba wasn't supposed to go inside. Nevertheless, she stepped through the door.

The room was pitch black. It took several long, agonizing seconds for Alex's eyes to adjust to the dark. Finally, with her pupils wide enough and a faint steak of moonlight falling through the window providing just enough light, the teenager was able to get an idea of her surroundings. The room was simple enough, almost like an ordinary bedroom. A bed was pushed up against a wall, a single window on the adjacent wall, a dresser against the wall that was parallel to the bed. There were only three things that destroyed the normalcy of the scene.

One: directly next to the dresser was a long table, which played host to a long assortment of knives, bands, and other objects that appeared as though they would be used for some form of torture.

Two: the bed was unkempt and unmade, and there were what appeared to be dark, maroon stains all over the sheets; Alex was unable to tell if the stains were still wet or not.

Three: a crumpled up, bloody Seto Kaiba lay in the middle of the floor.

Despite these three things, everything seemed perfectly normal.


	11. Don't Go

**Author's Note: So let's just skip the OMFGs and the WTFs and the HFSs and get straight to the point: this story is **_**back**_**. I'm in the process of finishing it as you read these words (actually I'm probably sleeping since I was up until 3:00 a.m. writing this chapter, but after that I'll be writing once more!). My only request is that you drop a little review on your way out: yell at me for how long it's taken to update, tell me what a load of rubbish this chapter is, or maybe give a few words of encouragement. Any and all reviews are welcome. And now (and I never thought I'd type these words) I give you Chapter 11. Enjoy.**

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**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and my plot. By now, though, you would think that the very copyright on my own ideas would have expired.**

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"Oh my God."

These three were the only words that Alex could muster. A part of her wanted to run to Seto and a part of her wanted to run the other way. _Was_ that Seto? she found herself thinking as she quickly moved to his side. His hair was terribly mussed, and he was only partially clothed. The white dress shirt that he wore had been torn open to reveal a torso littered with old scars and dark bruises, his throat and shoulders riddled with bite marks. A bed sheet sprinkled with blood was tangled around the lower half of his body, as though he had attempted to walk to the door but had only managed to collapse out of the bed. Though he was beaten and broken, there was no mistaking him. It _was_ Seto Kaiba.

"S-Seto...?" Alex whispered softly through the darkness as she knelt down beside him. At the sound of her voice Seto flinched away, and Alex felt her heart ache. Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, Alex found her voice and whispered once more, "Seto?"

"Go... away..." he moaned in a hoarse voice. He rose slightly, using his elbows to prop himself up, but quickly fell back to the floor, unable to muster the strength required to rise completely. Alex's hands shot out as though in reflex, tenderly clutching his shoulders to soften his slump to the floor.

"I'm not here to hurt you," she said quickly as he jerked away from her touch. "Seto, it's Alex."

At first it was as though she had not even said the words, or at least that the name meant nothing to him. But after a moment of thought - thought that seemed to be forced past pain - his eyelids gradually opened. He turned his head towards her, trying to see past the darkness and recognize her face. And then comprehension appeared to dawn in his eyes as he realized that she was who she said she was.

"I said... I said go away..." he gasped. His head had turned away from her once more, his eyes filled with some mixture of shame and pain.

"I'm here to help you!" she said quickly, wondering if he was in some way delusional. "Your brother told me that you were hurt and I told him that I could help."

He didn't look at her; he didn't say a word. He simply lie there, still, his eyes closed tight against the pain.

"I know you didn't ask for my help; I'm probably the last person that you want to see right now. But Mokuba is worried about you and I'm..." She fell silent, letting her own concerns for him die on her lips. She paused for only a moment, then murmured, "and I couldn't leave you here like this. I just couldn't..."

_She's not here to get anything from you_, said a voice in the back of Seto's mind. It was the voice that belonged to the small part of him Gozaburo had not yet corrupted. _She's here to help you. She wants to help Mokuba. There aren't any strings attached. She's here to help._

_Tell her to leave_, said another voice. A voice that sounded terribly like that of Gozaburo.

"But I could... I could leave..." she whispered, suddenly feeling as though she were imposing upon a very personal moment. "I could tell Mokuba that you're alright and just go..."

"Don't," Seto breathed, his eyes opening suddenly. Seto lifted his gaze, looking no higher than Alex's shoulder as he tried to find his voice again. "Don't go..."

"Seto, I really don't have too-"

"_Please._"

A moment of silence passed as the gravity of the situation seemed to wash over Alex like a large wave. For the first time she seemed to realize that this wasn't an uncommon occurrence. This was Seto's torture chamber. He was a slave to his step father. And all of that cold anger that he put on was a mask this life had forced him to wear. He needed help, was begging her for it.

"Of course I'll stay," she breathed, quickly blinking away the tears that threatened to pour from her eyes. "Of course I'll stay."

The chime of the ancient grandfather clock woke Alex from her uneasy sleep. Leaning against the unkempt bed with sleep in her eyes she took a moment to remember where she was and why she was there. Shortly after Seto had asked her to stay with him he had lost consciousness. Alex took the opportunity to go comfort Mokuba, and once she had convinced him to go on and get some rest she had returned to Seto's side. Too afraid to move him in his condition, she had simply leaned against the bed with a pillow in her lap and his head atop it. The last time she had checked her watch it had been somewhere around one in the morning, and now she could only pray her parents did not know she was out of her bed.

The sound of running water in an adjoining bathroom pulled Alex from her thoughts. Suddenly realizing that Seto was no longer beside her on the floor, she rose to her feet and walked slowly to the bathroom door, her eyes meeting the shirtless boy trying to clean his cuts with a wet wash cloth. Seto's gaze lifted to the mirror, staring at her eyes through the reflection.

"How do you feel?" Alex asked after a terribly long moment of silence. For a moment he said nothing, and simply continued to stare at her. But finally he dropped his gaze and sighed.

"Fine," he murmured, "I'm fine."

"Seto-"

"You can't tell anyone," he said stiffly, lifting his eyes to meet her reflection once more, never turning to face her directly.

"Seto, you can't be serious."

"Of course I'm serious," he growled, now turning to face her. "I'm dead serious."

"You can't let this keep happening," she said gently.

"Well why shouldn't it?" he said, his voice gradually turning hoarse as it had before. "It's been going on for as long as I can remember. Why break tradition now?"

"But what he's doing to you is wrong!"

"And you think I don't know that? Of course it's fucking wrong! In fact let's stop for a minute and talk about just how wrong it is!" Seto advanced on her, his blue eyes bright with anger. "D'you see these bruises? He'll beat me if I don't say 'yes sir' fast enough. He gave me a black eye once for calling him Gozaburo instead of father! And these bite marks? I got these because he needed something to do with his mouth when he was _fucking me_. So don't tell me about what he's doing to me or what I can or can't do because I'm already pretty well adjusted to how everything works around here."

There was a long moment of silence during which neither of them spoke, but simply stared - or in Seto's case glared - at each other.

"And what about Mokuba?" Alex asked softly, and Seto turned away from her angrily. "What if one day you pass out like you did last night and Gozaburo doesn't feel like he's had his fill with you? What if one day he decides that one boy isn't enough?"

Another long moment of silence.

"I will _always_ protect Mokuba," Seto growled, his teeth barred in anger. "And now you need to get the fuck out of our house."

"Seto, I didn't mean to-"

"I said get out."

Alex hesitated, her gaze falling to the floor. She knew it had been a low blow the moment she had said the words, but she couldn't help herself. Whether Seto wanted to hear it or not, Mokuba was an easy target.

"I'm sorry," she murmured softly, pausing for only a moment more before she turned and left, stopping only once more to pick up her backpack from beside the old grandfather clock.


	12. A Friend of Mine

**Author's Note:** **I should start by thanking those who saw fit to review the last chapter. I realize that the last chapter _was_ a bit of a boring restart, but you must believe me when I told you I've struggled with Chapter 11 for a very long time (I've written at least five different versions of it, none of which I felt were fit to see the light of day). However, I finally decided to go out on a limb and make a return, and hopefully the remaining chapters will satisfy you as the story has before! Secondly, thank you for all of the support that came during those long years of hiatus; I continued to get reviews and requests for a long time, and I regret ever having left this story on such an open ending as I did. (I hate it when authors do that, and I curse myself for having committed the same act.) Thirdly, I'm updating a bit early so that I can be on a solid update schedule with my other fanfic, a Beetlejuice fanfic entitled 'House Arrest' (it makes keep track of the stories a bit easier). You can expect regular updates every Wednesday from here on out lest some issue should crop up. Last but not certainly not least, please enjoy this chapter and if you review, be brutally honest!**

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Alex had expected the following morning to be awkward for two reasons. For one she had expected someone to notice that she had left the house during the night, and figured a set of angry parents and even angrier words awaited her at home. But when she stole through the front door at nearly four in the morning she found the house dark and silent as though nothing was amiss.

Though she might have dodged the first bullet she had no idea how she would dodge the second. It was inevitable that she should go to First Period HomeEc. and face Seto. She had no idea what she would say to him or what he would say to her if they even spoke to each other at all. Seto was such a private and proud person, and she could only imagine how furious he was with her.

It would be several long hours before Alex could leave the house without attracting any unwarranted attention. However, she was full of a nervous energy that she couldn't shake. She wanted to talk to someone, but had no one to talk to. It was then that her eyes wavered to the phone that lay on her bedside table, and she found herself punching numbers before she could stop.

The phone rang once, twice, three times-

"Hello?" asked a groggy voice over the receiver.

"Dad?" Alex said meekly, suddenly doing quick math in her head to make sure she was calling at a reasonable time.

"Hey, kiddo!" Sam said quickly, clearly trying to mask his bleary state. "I was just taking a nap at the office. What's up?"

"Nothing much..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are you calling me when it's, what, four-thirty over there?"

"Oh, gee, is that the time?" Alex said quickly, attempting a lie that she knew she wouldn't get away with.

"C'mon, babe, what's goin' on?"

"I... Oh, really, it's nothing. I just... I sort of... I just needed someone to talk to is all."

"Well that's what I'm here for," Sam said, the warm words bringing a smile to Alex's face. "So what's goin' on with you? How's school?"

"Alright I suppose. Nothing too tough."

"Yeah? How's your mom?"

"Fine. Having fun decorating the new house and un-packing stuff. She's moving a mile a minute. You know how she is."

"And how's the 'other dad?'"

"Tom's good," Alex said, chuckling at the term Sam had always used when referring to Alex's step father. "He's been working late a bit. Just two nights ago he was out almost all night. Mom said he had some major deal or paperwork or something."

"Bit of a workaholic, isn't he?"

"I guess," Alex sighed, twisting the phone cord nervously between her fingers. There was a moment of silence before Sam spoke up once more.

"Alex, what's bothering you?" he asked, his concern echoing over the phone.

"It's nothing, dad. I just didn't sleep very well, that's all."

"How come?"

"It's... well... it's this friend of mine."

"Uh-huh."

"And, well, this friend has a rough home life. But they don't want to tell anyone about it. They're worried about... protecting people, and-"

"What kind of 'rough' are we talking about?"

"I can't really say."

"We're not talking about Tom, are we Al?"

"Tom?" Alex asked, taken off guard by the question.

"Yeah. We're not talking about Tom causing problems are we? 'Cause if he is I'll hop the next plane and-"

"Dad, I said a friend."

"Yeah, which is code for 'me, but I don't want to say me because I'll attract attention.'"

"Look, it's not me, okay? It really is a friend of mine."

"Which friend?"

"Can't say."

"You're not really putting my mind at ease here."

"Look, I'm fine, mom's fine, Tom's cool, everything's fine!" Alex paused, looking sideways in the phone's direction. "I thought you liked Tom."

"What?" he stopped as though rethinking his words. "Oh, yeah, forget it. So what about this friend of yours?"

"He's... he's just got it tough and he doesn't want help. And I... I don't know what to do..."

"Well, does he want your help?"

"No..." she said exasperatedly.

"And did you say that you wouldn't tell anyone?"

"Not in so many words..."

"Sounds like you're up a creek. If he doesn't want your help, then he's gonna fight anything you try. The best thing you can do is just be there for him."

"I get the feeling he's not gonna want to share his feelings with me."

"Well sometimes that's just the way things go. Give him time. Maybe he'll come around."

"I doubt it."

"Al, I know you just wanna help but not everybody wants to be helped." He fell silent for a moment, then murmured, "You can't save everyone."

"I know dad," she sighed. She thought for a moment, then blinked herself out of her daze and looked forward as though she could see her father before her. "How's Angelo?"

"Fine the last time I talked to him," Sam chuckled, his laugh rekindling Alex's smile. She loved his laugh. "He's been asking about you. He wants to know why you haven't called him."

"What did you tell him?" she asked, suddenly slightly worried.

"That you were busy. I told him new town, new school, new life. It's a lot to take in. Still, he pouts a little. The kid drives me nuts."

"Is he still living in that old apartment?"

"Yep. But he's threatening to hop a plane, though, if he doesn't hear from you before long."

"I'll call him later."

"If nothing else to get him off my back!" Sam laughed, but abruptly stopped as a knock on the door carried over from his end of the phone. "Sweetie I gotta go. Duty calls."

"Alright dad."

"And hey, keep me up to date on your friend, alright? If things get... well... if things get too tough, you've always got your old man to help out."

"I know."

"Love you, hon."

"Love you too, dad."

Alex sighed as she replaced the phone on the receiver. Feeling none too comforted she rose to her feet and walked to her stereo system, popping a CD into the disc drive and turning up the volume loud enough to drown out anything going on outside her room without disturbing her mother and Tom. A few words from a Harry Belafonte song echoed over the speakers, though in a much darker tone than usual, before a long chaotic instrumental followed. Alex's eyelids drooped shut as the music washed over her, the notes seeming to flush all of her worry right out of her.

Within minutes she had drifted to sleep, never even thinking to set her alarm clock.

Several hours later Alex found herself running to school. Her mother had pounded on her door over the sounds of her music, waking her with just enough time to get dressed and grab a breakfast bar before sprinting out of the house and towards Domino High School.

Her sleep had been uneasy and riddled with nightmares. She dreamt of a large, decaying old mansion with a thousand empty rooms. She could hear Mokuba's screams echoing around the halls, and she raced from room to room looking for the source of his cries. She finally came to a room at the end of a very long corridor with blood pouring from beneath the door. Terrified, she opened the door with a shaking hand and standing before her was a large, shadowy figure with the face of Gozaburo Kaiba that she had seen just days ago, and behind him lay a large coffin with blood oozing out from beneath the lid.

On her way to school she tried to forget the dreams and focus more on what she would say to Seto when she finally was forced to face him. But when she entered Room 306 - with only seconds to spare before the tardy bell rang - she found Seto's seat empty. The seat remained empty all period long, and she could only take Seto's absence as a bad sign.

Alex thought of Seto off and on for the rest of the school day. She couldn't forget what she had seen the night before, as though the sight had been burned into the backs of her eyelids. Just as haunting had been Mokuba's attitude: the way he had attacked her, as though it was commonplace for any random stranger to come into their house and attack Seto; that Seto had been "hurt enough"; the way he knew not to go into the room where Seto lay beaten and broken.

By the time Alex came to her locker at the end of the day it she could hardly steady her hand long enough to open her locker. She was filled with a high tension that made her jumpy and on edge. It all stemmed from what very little sleep she had gotten, what she knew about Seto, and his near passiveness about the entire thing. And what was worse, she couldn't mention it to anyone.

"Having trouble with your locker?" a voice asked as Alex's fingers fumbled with the combination lock. Alex's gaze turned to find Seto standing beside her, his cold eyes fixed upon her face.

"Yeah, I guess," she murmured, quickly dropping her eyes to the lock once more. "I thought you weren't here today."

"I got here at lunch," he said, adding stiffly, "I wasn't feeling very well this morning."

This was a lie. She knew it was a possibility that she hadn't seen him during Study Hall, but it had been impossible to overlook his empty desk in Algebra. However, she decided it would be better not to question him. There was a long moment of silence as Alex finally managed to open her locker, shoveling books in and out of her backpack. When she was finally finished fidgeting with her bag she closed it up, swinging it over her shoulder and turning to face Seto.

"Look, I'm sorry about last night," she said quickly, "and I'm sorry that I intruded on your personal life. I just wanted to help. But it's clear that you don't want my help so you don't have to worry about it. I'm not going to tell anyone and... and I won't say anything else about it." And with that she turned on her heel, marching down the hall. She had made it several lockers down when she found herself stopping at the sound of Seto's voice.

"Mokuba... wanted me to... to thank you..." he mumbled, just loud enough for Alex to hear him. She paused, turning back to face him, her brow furrowed ever so slightly.

"What?"

"He wanted me to... thank you... for what you did last night. From what he tells me you were... really kind to him. He said you even tucked him into bed." Seto's gaze fell to the floor, the words coming as though forced and difficult to manage. "You were good to him... so he wanted me to tell you thanks... from the... the both of us..."

Again Alex hesitated, then slowly began walking back towards Seto. Meeting his eyes, she sighed and gave him her face void of any expression save for a tinge of concern that Seto could not ignore.

"So, d'you wanna go to the library and work on our project?" she asked quietly with a slight shrug of her shoulders. For a moment he said nothing, but simply stared at her with cold, unfeeling eyes.

"Sure," he murmured, nodding his head slowly. "I guess I'm a bit behind anyway."

"Yeah," Alex affirmed with the smallest of smiles. "Just a little bit."


	13. Cordially Invited

**Author's Note: Well, we've finally stumbled upon lucky number thirteen. I understand that some are dissatisfied with my updating timeline? Please keep in mind that I am simultaneously working on two stories, and as such I'm having to split my writing time between them. I like to keep a steady updating schedule of one chapter per week, but I'll see what I can do.**

**I also understand that some are a bit restless with the progression of the story, but soon it will be trucking along. There were things that were never set up in the original chapters that needed to be established, and I'm taking this opportunity to fill in holes. (I also **_**really **_**wanted to bring Alex's father back into the story because believe it or not he's one of my favorite characters; he's based on an actor I fancy.) Chapter 13 may also be considered a 'dull' chapter, but it sets up the beginning of the 'drama and action' that you so desperately crave. **_**Please**_** bear with me. The angst is coming; I can taste it! And please keep reviewing! Your criticism drives me to be a better writer. **

**Now I give you Chapter 13. Enjoy!**

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Several weeks passed before Seto mentioned Gozaburo's name to Alex. It became as though Alex had never gone to Seto's house, as though the truth was still a secret. However, there were some changes. For one, Seto seemed a bit less negative towards Alex, but his negativity was simply replaced by apathy. He also made a point to compromise more with Alex on the baby project, meeting with her ever day after school to work at the library.

Every day when the pair exited the library, a long black limo would be waiting on the curb to pick Seto up. And every once and a while Gozaburo would be waiting in the back seat with the window rolled half-way down. On these occasions Alex would take the plastic child from Seto, murmuring something to the affect of, "I'll watch it tonight." They never discussed it, but Seto would nod his head solemnly and walk to meet his step father.

The morning following one of Gozaburo's appearances, Seto took his seat beside Alex rather anxiously. At first she thought he might have simply had a 'rough night,' which was Alex's general assumption whenever Seto's mood was anything but indifferent. But his distracted behavior continued throughout the hour and when he didn't even notice the bell signaling the end of the hour, Alex felt something had to be said.

"Seto?" she asked somewhat meekly, "are you-?"

"Fine," he murmured, struggling to fit his textbooks properly into his bag.

"Whatever," she sighed, shouldering her bag before turning to leave.

"Ah... actually..." Seto mumbled, as though hoping that Alex would not hear her. But she had heard him, and she turned back to face him, nodding slightly.

"What is it?" she asked quietly, her eyes trained on his hands as he continued to fumble with his bag.

"I wanted to... That is to say, I need to ask you..."

"Seto," she said calmly, placing her hand on his arm without thinking. His gaze fell to the touch, his expression hardening, as she asked again, "What is it?"

There was a pause during which neither of them spoke, Seto's eyes boring into her hand whilst she still seemed unaware that she had even touched him. After a moment his eyes lifted to meet hers, studying her face as though searching for something, before tearing his arm away and tossing his bag over his shoulder.

"I'll see you after school," he muttered, leaving the room in a swift stride. All Alex could do was shrug her shoulders and sigh.

"I'll never understand him," she breathed, the last to leave the room.

Throughout the day Alex wondered what Seto had wanted to ask her. Whatever it was had unnerved him and that made her all the more interested. She could never corner him in any of their other classes (not that she felt that she was up to the challenge of cornering 'The Seto Kaiba') and never saw him during lunch. But if she had been leery of his attitude before, she was even more so when he arrived at his locker several minutes late. If there was one thing she had learned about Seto, it was that he was hardly ever late.

When he finally arrived he never lifted his gaze to meet Alex, acting only vaguely aware of her presence as she lounged against her own locker, watching him closely.

"I finally got the thing to switch to 'light green' again," Seto sighed, handing the plastic baby off to Alex without ever meeting her eyes.

"That's good," she said, her tone thick with a teasing suspicion. He glanced at her for only a moment before opening his locker.

"It's my turn tonight, right?" he asked, replacing the English binder in his bag with a Chemistry book.

"Yep."

"Alright then," he said as he closed his locker. "Let's go."

Seto turned and began walking down the hall, but stopped several lockers down when he realized that Alex was not beside him. He turned to glance over his shoulder quizzically, backtracking a step or so. "We are going, aren't we?"

"What did you want to talk to me about this morning?" Alex asked, folding her arms across her chest. Seto's face went blank before he shook his head.

"It isn't important," he said quickly, "we can talk about it later."

"Can we talk about it now?"

"Why should we?" Seto asked somewhat agitatedly.

"Why _shouldn't_ we?" she countered smoothly. When he didn't answer her she closed the small distance between them and shrugged. "It's bothering you. And when something bothers you, it bothers me too."

Seto's eyes narrowed. He was beginning to despise her honesty because it was beginning to confirm one of his worst suspicions: she was growing _attached_ to him. The thought had bothered him ever since the night she had discovered him lying bloody on his bedroom floor. Perhaps it wasn't so much that she might care for him, but what that might entail or encourage. After all, she had no idea what he had to ask of her, and it could only be the beginning of this whole acquaintanceship snowballing out of control.

"Fine," he conceded, glancing around what few students and teachers remained in the hall. "But can we talk about it on the way to the library?"

"Of course!" Alex agreed brightly, leading the way down the hall and out the nearest exit. Seto rolled his eyes but followed.

The pair walked in silence for a moment or so. Alex said nothing, letting Seto get his mental footing before he started talking. However they had hardly made it off the school grounds before Seto finally found his words.

"Gozaburo has been... watching us..." Seto murmured, his back straight but his eyes down turned.

"What do you mean?"

"On the days that Gozaburo accompanied the limo he noticed the two of us together."

"And?"

"And he's taken an interest in you," Seto said with a sigh. Alex thought this over for a moment, then nodded.

"I don't have to tell you how much that makes me want to vomit."

"Not for himself," Seto clarified, hardly belittling her remark. "My step-father prefers teenage boys to girls."

"Seto..." Alex said in a voice threatening sympathy. Seto quickly pressed on.

"No, he's taken an interest in you for me."

"What?"

"I thought he was joking at first," Seto sighed, shaking his head. "In fact I'm almost positive that he was. But the more he thought about it, the better an idea he thought it made."

"What makes him think this is such a good idea?"

"He thinks it would help my public image. Going to a public school, getting a..."

"A girlfriend," she finished as his voice died away. He nodded slowly, swallowing hard.

"Right. He says it will bring a better light on my inheriting the corporation, seeing how the press currently views me as some type of pampered prince."

"And am I allowed to ask why I've been given the honor of marrying the Ice Prince?"

"He thought we looked nice together."

"Were those his words or yours?"

"I'm paraphrasing," Seto murmured.

"What did he really say?"

"You don't want to-"

"What did he say?" she said exasperatedly, coming to a stop and turning to face him. He stopped as well, but refused to face her, remaining silent for a moment or so before his words came in an even, cold tone.

"He said you looked decent. That you're built well enough that someone would want to fuck you, but you don't look like you're begging for it. That you weren't exactly up to my standards, but someone a bit plain looking would do better for my image than a cheerleader who looked like she'd had work done. And he said the uniform didn't flatter you any, but in some tighter fitting clothes you'd look much more sensual."

For a moment the pair stood in silence, Seto still refusing to meet her gaze. But as Alex's head hung slightly, Seto finally turned his gaze toward her, his expression softening minutely.

"If it makes you feel any better, he thinks enough of you to invite you to a small corporate dinner he's hosting at the mansion on Saturday."

"Yeah, loads better," Alex breathed, and Seto thought he heard her sniffle. "Some asshole feels I'm worthy of having the fuck-rights to his son. Lovely."

"You'd be sharing the rights, though," Seto said with a cold stab at humor that missed its goal. Alex looked up at him, her brow knitted and a deep frown set across her face.

"I don't understand you," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't understand you. You're so indifferent and cold about everything, even this... this sick stuff that he's doing to you. And I'm sure I don't even know the worst of it. I'm sure that whatever else he's got you doing is ten times worse than anything I can think of. And somebody finally knows about it and you don't want to talk about it, you won't even mention it!" She shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "I just... I just don't understand _why_."

"You can't understand," Seto said after a long moment of silence. "There aren't words... I can't describe to you what you want to understand. I've lived in that house with that man for years, and what he's done he has done for years. You say that I'm cold and indifferent about everything. He raised me that way, molded me. He worked me night and day, with a collar - sometimes even a shock collar - around my neck, drilling me and filling my head with economic theory and political science, trying to distract me from the backhands and slaps I would get when I answered a question wrong. He made me this way so that the day that all of this... this 'sick stuff' started happening I wouldn't think anything of it. Because I'm not supposed to think for myself; I'm supposed to think like him. And that makes all of this - everything he's done and keeps doing - okay."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her gaze falling once more. Seto glanced around before shaking his head.

"Don't apologize," Seto sighed. "Your sympathy is natural. It's my reaction that isn't... isn't normal."

Alex's eyes met his. Seto knew that he was only half right: his reactions were never orthodox. But her sympathy wasn't exactly natural. Pity might have been natural, but there was something much more earnest in her feelings for him. Even Seto understood that. However, it was a discussion best left for another time.

"So, will you come?" Seto asked as they began to walk along the sidewalk once more.

"What?"

"To the dinner on Saturday."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to say no."

"I wish you'd reconsider."

"And why is that?"

"Well, for one it'd make things a bit easier on me."

"It isn't fair to play the guilt card," she murmured with a sideways glance in his direction.

"And secondly, as I said it's a corporate dinner. Your father was invited, and he's already accepted the invitation on your behalf."

"My father?"

"Thomas Fides."

"Oh... I thought you meant..." She shook her head. "Never mind."

"Well?" he asked, letting the thread of conversation die.

"I suppose I'll be coming then," Alex sighed lightly. "And by the way, Tom's my step-dad."

"I'll keep that in mind."


	14. Ask For This

**Author's Note: First of all I am terribly sorry for the delay on the posting of this chapter. First I had issues with the Document Manager and then I had issues with school that bogged me down... But now the chapter is here! And to make up for its belated debut, it is the longest chapter I have posted since 'The Great Comeback of 2010.' I was tempted to title this chapter "Party at a Rich Dude's House," but I felt that would be a bit droll and tasteless. Also, Seto could be a bit OOC today, but considering how his world seems to be falling down around him I wouldn't consider anything really OOC at this point. Anyway, thank you for being patient and _please_ keep reviewing!**

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"I don't even know what to wear!" Alex yelled from her room, tearing through her closet at record speed.

"Should have thought of that when you found out we were going!" Tom chuckled, folding his arms across his chest as he stood in the doorway.

"Well is it formal? Casual? Semi-casual?" Alex's mother asked from her perch atop Alex's bed. "After all, Allie's going to want to look her best for her boy-"

"Not my boyfriend!" Alex shouted as she wrestled with two tangled hangers.

"Right, of course not," Moriah said, smiling at Tom while he returned the smile. "What's his name again?"

"Seto."

"And even though he isn't your boyfriend, you certainly are working awful hard to find an outfit that will please him, aren't you?"

"You ought to stop teasing her and help her pick something out," Tom sighed as he turned away from the room, calling over his shoulder, "We're going to be late if you don't hurry!"

"As though that would be a bad thing," Alex grumbled, her mother advancing behind her.

"Allie, what's wrong with this dress?" Moriah asked, holding up a white, sashy dress with a black trim, straps and ribbon around the waist.

"Mom, I'm going to a dinner, not a dance."

"I think it's pretty," she commented, returning it to its proper place within the closet. She thumbed through a few more garments before shaking her head. "You really are ill prepared for formal events, aren't you?"

"They don't exactly come around that often," Alex sighed, collapsing in the middle of a mountain of clothing that had formed around her. "I still can't believe I got talked into this."

"Well, you're lucky your old mom still has a few tricks left in her. C'mon, I think you'll like this."

Moriah Fides took her daughter by the hand, leading her from the disaster zone that her room had become and to the master bedroom. She sat Alex down on the bed before disappearing into the room's spacious closet, digging through the clothing in a way that resembled her daughter's own attempts to find an outfit. However, after a long battle, Moriah emerged from the closet.

"One of my favorite dresses from my dating days," Moriah said, gazing down at the hanger in her hands and the outfit it held. "Doesn't fit anymore, but it's perfect in emergencies like these. What d'you think?"

Alex's eyes brightened, a smile drawing across her face. "It's perfect."

"Thought you'd say that. Now let's get you ready."

. . . . .

Seto stood quietly at Gozaburo's elbow beside a roaring fire. They were in the first floor sitting room which lie just beyond the entry way, awaiting the arrival of their last two invitees. Gozaburo chatted amiably with the guests at hand over stock prices and fluctuating markets, drinks in hand to elevate spirits. However, Seto remained silent unless spoken to - as was the norm.

In truth his indifference often carried over into nights like these when corporate partners or potential clients would come to dine. Sometimes they would stay on into the night, other times they would leave. Yet this night was different: never had someone his age attended one of these events.

He was nervous to say the least. He had awoken that morning with a knot in his stomach, and that knot had done nothing but tighten as the hour of dinner drew nearer. Now as he stood waiting for Alex and her father's arrival, his eyes trained upon the doorway, he very much felt as though he would vomit.

As with the other attendees, there was no knock on the door or ringing of a doorbell to foretell the arrival of Thomas Fides and his daughter. But when they appeared in the doorway of the sitting room in the wake of a stiffly dressed butler, Seto's eyes met Alex's and suddenly the knot in his stomach seemed to dissolve into nothingness.

All eyes turned to the newcomers, judgment weighing heavily in their stares. Like every other man in the room, Tom was dressed in a suit and tie, his hair neatly combed into place without a lock gone astray. Alex wore a simple, black, sleeveless dress and black heels. Her hair had been fitted with a black ribbon, and she held a small black clutch purse in her hands. Gozaburo smiled warmly, walking to meet the arrivals with an extended hand and his step son moving in his shadow all the way. And though the room seemed to move around him and Seto seemed to move with it, everything appeared to have slowed down to an intolerable pace - and at the same time things seemed to move too fast for Seto to take them all in.

"Tom, good to have you here again," Gozaburo said hospitably as Tom shook his hand.

"Gozaburo, Seto," Tom said, with a nod of his head to each. He extended his arm behind Alex as though to display her properly. "Gozaburo, I'd like you to meet my step daughter, Alex. Alex, this is Gozaburo Kaiba."

Alex hesitated for only a second before shaking Gozaburo's hand as Tom had done. His hand was large, almost enveloping hers completely, and his grip was firm. She withdrew her hand as soon as she was able but not before Seto's eyes had narrowed upon the touch, a longing to strike his filthy hand away from her welling up within him.

"We've seen each other before," Gozaburo said to Tom with a smile, "on the rare days that I go to retrieve Seto from school. However we've never been properly introduced. I'm glad to finally have the chance to meet you," he added to Alex.

"Likewise," Alex murmured, clasping her hands behind her back.

"I believe that's everyone!" Gozaburo announced to the room as the other guests rose from their seats. "Let's head on to the dining room, shall we?"

Gozaburo and Tom lead the small crowd, with Seto and Alex following closely in their wake. At first neither said anything, but as the adults around them busied themselves with conversations of their own, the two teens once again met each others eyes.

"You look different," Seto murmured after a moment of struggling for words.

"I'm not quite sure how to take that," Alex muttered.

"As a compliment," he clarified, turning his eyes to bore into the back of his step father once more.

"Hopefully I'll meet your father's approval. I wouldn't want him to have to cancel the wedding."

They walked on for a moment more in silence, and as they entered the dining room Seto realized for the first time how much Gozaburo's opinion on her appearance had stung her, how days later the words still hurt her. Just as they were about to part ways to their seats, Seto's fingers brushed against Alex's arm in resemblance of the sympathetic gesture she often employed on him. Needless to say she froze at the touch.

"Don't worry about his approval," Seto breathed, his eyes fixated upon her shoes. "You already have mine."

Gozaburo sat at the head of the banquet table, with Seto to his right and Thomas at his left. Alex sat beside Tom with one man to her left, the other two guests seated at Seto's right. Two maids entered the dining room, serving out bowls of soup to each of the diners before taking their leave. The first few minutes passed with nothing but the sound of spoons clinking against bowls, but such a silence could only last so long at a table of seven.

"For those of you who don't know," Gozaburo said, "Thomas' daughter, Alex, is a friend of Seto's from school."

As the other guests murmured acknowledgements, Alex glanced at Seto for any sign of a reaction. He sat immobilized, his soup untouched as he stared into the depths of his bowl.

"What classes do you share, again?" Gozaburo asked, his question directed at Alex. At first she said nothing, watching as Seto's eyes moved only slightly in her direction.

"Literature, Algebra, Study Hall and Home Economics," Alex answered shortly, taking a sudden interest in her Vichyssoise.

"Home Economics," Gozaburo chuckled with a shake of his head. "The only class left in that blasted school. What a waste of time. I believe they're having you pretend that you're married and having you carry around a plastic doll. Is that correct?"

"Yes, but it isn't that bad."

"You're in high school; you shouldn't be thinking about marriage and children. You should be thinking about mathematics and science. Take Seto here: keeps his head on the ground, doesn't waste his time with that kind of nonsense. If he had had the option he never would have taken that childish class. Isn't that right, Seto?"

"Yes, father," Seto answered, his voice flat and void of any emotion.

Gozaburo nodded as though satisfied while the maids returned, taking away the soup bowls and bringing out the next course. Meanwhile, Alex could not help but look to Seto once more. She didn't like the power that Gozaburo exerted over him. He was like a satellite, moving and responding only in reaction to his step father. She would have given anything to reach over and touch him, to try to wake him from this trance-like state by invading that personal space he prized so highly.

The remainder of the meal passed much as the beginning had. Very little conversation was made, and the topics were mostly on things that Alex did not understand or care for, such as company business or the economy. Gozaburo generally had his own input, with Seto agreeing tonelessly. The very sight made Alex ill, and she found it hard to progress all the way through the final course of their dinner.

Once the meal had concluded the group returned to the sitting room for somewhat freer conversation, though the topics were much the same as they had been before. Several times the men would get into almost heated debates over stocks and market strategies, but Alex had no interest in it. All the while Seto sat mindlessly beside his step father, having little to no input at all save for what was expected of him.

"May I be excused to the restroom for a moment?" Alex asked as the conversation at hand began to die. Gozaburo glanced at her for a moment as though he had forgotten exactly why she was there, but then nodded.

"Of course," he said, patting Seto on the shoulder. "Seto, you'll escort her?"

"Yes, father," was all that Seto said as he rose to his feet, walking to Alex and then leading her from the room. He moved at a brisk pace, and in heels that she wasn't used to Alex struggled to keep up. But as they rounded the corner of a long and dark hall Seto came to a halt before a door.

"Your bathroom," he murmured as he leaned back against the wall, his eyes closing.

"I didn't really need to go to the restroom," Alex murmured, watching Seto. "I just wanted to get out of that room."

"I know," Seto sighed, motionless. "I know the feeling."

"Say something about the way I look," Alex said as she leaned against the wall beside him.

"I already have."

"No, I mean say something negative."

"What?" he asked, his eyes opening slowly and turning in her direction.

"Or insult my intelligence," she suggested, meeting his gaze. "Something, anything! Just say something the normal Seto would say, because whoever you are in there... it's not Seto Kaiba."

Seto watched Alex in silence, the wheels slowly turning within his mind. Once again she was exhibiting those sincere emotions that he wanted to avoid. He had known her for two months - just as long if not longer than he had known anyone else his age. And during that time it was as though she had crawled inside his mind and built a nest there, knowing and reading him better than anyone else - almost as well as Mokuba. Despite all of his efforts to shake her off, she wouldn't be deterred, and because of it two things were happening. One: he was becoming more and more agitated by her incessant kindliness. Two: he was beginning to grow attached to her, just as she had attached herself to him.

It was the latter that he feared.

"You say you don't understand me," Seto said scathingly, attempting to deflect her. "Well I don't understand _you_. Nobody gives a shit about me, and then along you come and all you can say is 'Seto, are you okay?' and 'Seto, are you feeling all right?' Who cares! Who cares if I'm feeling all right, who cares if I'm okay! Who _gives_ a damn? Why do you care so much?"

"Somebody should care," Alex said after a long moment of silence. "And if you're not even going to care about yourself, then why shouldn't that 'somebody' be me?"

"You care so much then?" Seto murmured. "Do you want to know what's going to happen when you and your step father leave tonight?"

"If you want to tell me," Alex answered, which only made Seto more frustrated.

"There are three men in there that you don't know: two of them are shareholders with KaibaCorp, one of them is one of Gozaburo's colleagues from a foreign weapons manufacturer. Once you're gone and the conversation has died away and the amount of hard liquor is running dangerously low, they'll begin to walk up to my bedroom, one at a time. They'll do things that you can't _possibly_ imagine, and they'll do these things slow because the idea of causing pain and having power really turns these guys on. That's why they like knives and ropes and gags and blindfolds."

As Seto spoke his words came faster and faster to the point that they were spilling out beyond his control. It was something he hadn't done in a long time: he was letting his guard down, allowing himself to actually experience how he felt, and allowing all of this to pour out.

"Sometime around three in the morning they'll have had their fill and they'll leave and, if I'm lucky, Gozaburo will be too drunk to want anything to do with me. And if I'm still conscious I'll drag myself into that bathroom and try to rinse off the blood and the layers of filth and try to scrub away this feeling that I will _never_ be able to shake. This feeling of being dirty, being gross, disgusting..."

"Seto..." Alex said softly, reaching out her hand to touch his arm as she often did. However, he jerked away from her instantly as though her touch caused him pain.

"No!" he growled, his eyes full of an uncontrollable fire that was so different from his typical cold stare. "Don't _touch_ me! You think I _want_ you to touch me? I'm covered in this filth and you think I want you to touch me so that I can rub this off on you and your _perfect_ life? On your _perfect_ family and your _perfect_ adolescence? NO!"

"Seto!" Alex gasped, suddenly clutching his hands, attempting to call him back to his sanity. She feared what would happen if his stepfather overheard Seto shouting and feared what would happen if Gozaburo found out that she knew about their 'family secret.' She had no fear for herself, but her fear for Seto was an entirely different matter. While her eyes searched Seto's face feverishly for some sign of control, Seto seemed so seized by his anger that he simply could not speak. His gaze fell, his brow intensely furrowed.

"Seto," she whispered, "you didn't ask for this, this isn't your fault. There's nothing wrong with you."

Seto's eyes lifted to meet hers, her words slowly bringing him back to his senses. He swallowed hard, realizing how near the two had drawn during his uncontrolled outburst and her attempt to bring him back to his senses.

"I apologize," he murmured, his eyes falling to their hands still locked together. "You didn't ask for this..."

"It's okay," she said quickly, wondering if he realized that he was mirroring her words. "It's all right. You should talk about it if it bothers you. You can't just... just bottle it up."

"I've 'bottled it up' all of my life. It shouldn't be any different now."

"Yes it should," she whispered. For a moment she hesitated, and then very quietly asked, "No one else knows what I know, do they? Aside from the people involved..."

"Mokuba knows... knows that Gozaburo 'hurts me' and he knows that Gozaburo invites people over to do the same. But I've never told him..." Seto paused, shaking his head and swallowing hard once more.

"He doesn't know how deep that abuse runs," she finished, and Seto nodded slowly. "It's different now because someone knows. And you can either talk to that person, or just let this weight lie on your shoulders until it kills you. And it _will_ kill you, Seto. It already _is_ killing you. I mean... I wish you could see yourself when you're around him. It's like... like you're already dead."

"Seto?" echoed a voice as footsteps thundered down the hall, and around the corner came Gozaburo's towering figure. Instantly Alex backed away from Seto, releasing his hands as she did so, hardly having remembered grabbing them in the first place. But as her hands slipped from Seto's, his fingers tightened around hers, clinging as though for dear life. Her eyes met his only for a moment before both of their gazes turned to meet Gozaburo, their linked fingers hidden behind them.

"Seto," Gozaburo repeated as he came to a stop before the pair, "we were wondering where you had gotten off to. You've been gone a while."

"I'm sorry," Seto said, bowing his head slightly.

"I was just admiring your house," Alex interjected quickly. "It's my fault that we took so long. I'm the one who should apologize."

As Alex said the final words she felt Seto's grip tighten ever so slightly.

"Oh fine, fine," Gozaburo said with a smile. "Alex, your father is talking of leaving soon. I believe it would be best if you made your way back to the sitting room."

"Yes, father," Seto murmured, inclining his head once more. Gozaburo turned and began his walk down the hallway back to the sitting room. Alex looked back to Seto, who gazed after his stepfather as he said very softly, "I _feel_ dead inside..."

After a moment of silence the pair followed after Gozaburo back to the sitting room. They stood in the doorway, watching as the men exchanged goodbyes. The men laughed and smiled at each other, shaking hands all around. Gozaburo patted Tom on the shoulder and, as the other men sat back down, Gozaburo walked with Tom to the entry way, Alex and Seto following in their wake once more.

"If you need anything," Alex whispered as their stepfathers exchanged farewells, "you've got my number."

"I do?"

"In the baby project folder," she clarified, shaking her head and smiling. "Honestly, Seto..."

"No, I remember," he said with an anxious glance at Gozaburo.

"I'm serious though. About... everything..."

"I know you are. And so am I."

"C'mon, Allie," Tom said, extending his arm.

"Alex, it was very nice to meet you," Gozaburo said with a smile as they walked to the door. "Perhaps we'll all do this again sometime. Maybe your mother would like to come as well!"

"We'll talk," Tom said, opening the door for Alex.

The two walked out of the home and down the path towards Tom's car. While they walked Alex glanced over her shoulder back towards the doorway. As the door shut the last thing she saw within the house was Gozaburo's hand fixed securely on Seto's shoulder and Seto's expression slipping into its cold, dead mask once more.


	15. Yes, Father

**Author's Note: For those not yet aware, I have opened a LiveJournal account where I'll be posting replies to all of the anonymous reviews that I've been receiving via this story. If you're one of those reviewers and you're at all interested in reading what I had to say about your review, just click on my profile and near the very top you'll find a link to the site. I will also be posting update news and little tidbits about the story there as well.**

**Also: would anyone be upset if I started posting chapters a bit more frequently? I've caught the writing bug and I am very excited about where this story is headed. I may start posting more often if there aren't any objections. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Please enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to drop a review!**

* * *

"Because I already know you're going to ask, I'm fine."

Alex glanced up as Seto collapsed into the seat beside her, placing the plastic baby on top of their desk. A quick retort danced on her tongue, but she bit back the words when she saw the dark circles beneath his eyes. It was clear that he hadn't gotten much sleep since she had seen him at the dinner party. But there was a tinge of darkness around his right eye, and if she hadn't known any better she would have thought that it had been bruised, then very carefully disguised by some sort of concealer.

"If you say so," she murmured as she began digging through her bag. "But just so you know, you look like shit."

"Well, your honesty is always very reassuring," Seto sighed, lifting a hand absentmindedly and brushing his bangs ever so slightly over his right eye.

"I'm glad that I can be of some use to you," she said with a small smile. "By the way, you've become a regular celebrity around my house."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, when you and I excused ourselves from that dinner party of yours, I think it gave the wrong impression because the next day my mother was all over me, asking me the strangest questions about you. I have no idea what Tom told her but it certainly made her curious."

As Alex spoke there was a hint of laughter to her voice, and when she looked at Seto she couldn't understand why he looked so concerned.

"What's wrong? It's nothing to worry about. In fact, it's funny!" Her brow knitted in a sudden look of mock-concern. "You do know what 'funny' means, right Kaiba?"

"Stop it," he growled, glancing sideways at her without actually meeting her gaze. "You don't understand."

"I thought we'd already covered that there was a lot I didn't understand."

"I don't want Gozaburo to encourage this," he snapped, not at all appreciating her humor.

"Encourage what?"

"This _thing_ that he's trying to make happen between you and I."

"What's so bad about it?"

"I don't _want_ it to happen!" he spat, his temper getting the better of him. His eyes met Alex's gaze just in time to see her smile fade.

"Is everything alright over here?" Ms. Whalish asked as she came to a stop beside Seto and Alex's desk.

"Fine," Alex said quietly, her eyes never breaking away from the orbs of blue. "Everything's fine. Isn't it, Seto?"

Seto said nothing, but Ms. Whalish took the response well enough and went on about her supervision of the class. The pair fell into silence as Alex began rifling through her folder, pulling out the day's assignment. Seto, however, couldn't help but feel as though he had said the wrong thing.

The entire hour passed in silence. Every ten minutes or so Seto would try to think of something that he might say to break the steely quiet, but whenever he would open his mouth no sound would come forth. When the bell finally rang and everyone began to leave, he took a deep breath and turned to Alex once more.

"Look, I didn't-"

"You should probably know that the library is closed today," Alex said as though he hadn't even spoken. Seto blinked, somewhat dazed by her uncharacteristic indifference. Then the information registered, and he began to form words once more.

"It's closed? Why?"

"They're doing some kind of remodeling. There was a sign posted on the door last week."

"I must have missed it."

"Anyway, that means we have to find somewhere else to work on the project." She finally met his gaze. "Think about where you might want to go. We can talk about it after school."

And with that, she left. Seto ran his hand through his hair, letting it fall slightly over his right eye once more.

As the day went by, Seto struggled to think of a place for them to work on their project. There really weren't too many quiet, secluded places in Domino where school work could be done. He knew she had been alluding to their houses as she left, but he would not set one foot in his own home before he absolutely had to. With that being said, he knew that it was inevitable that they would end up at Alex's house.

At the end of the day they met at their lockers, as was the norm. However, Seto had had plenty of time to think about what he would say when finally faced with Alex, and he was prepared for the worst.

"I didn't mean what I said earlier," he blurted out as she began dialing in the combination on her locker. He winced slightly as the words crossed his lips, the delivery in his mind sounding much smoother. "I mean... the way that I said it... I didn't mean it the way... It didn't come out right."

"Has this been bothering you all day?" she asked casually, the majority of her attention devoted to her locker.

"No," he lied, though it was a very convincing lie.

"Good. Because it isn't a big deal."

"It seemed like a big deal this morning," he mumbled.

"It was," she said as she shut her locker door. "But now it isn't. So where do you want to work?"

"I don't know," he said as he ran his hand through his hair, tugging his bangs slightly over his right eye. "Any suggestions?"

"My first suggestion is to stop worrying about that black eye. You can hardly tell there's anything wrong with it, but the way you keep trying to hide it people are bound to notice it sooner or later."

"Um..."

"Secondly, we could work at my house. That is, if you don't mind a stepfather who doesn't mind his own business and a mother who will, at the rate she's going, probably ask you when you plan to ask for my hand in marriage."

"That's fine," he said with the smallest of smiles. She stared at him for a moment, then smiled as well.

"Alright then. Let's go."

The walk to Alex's house was a relatively short one, filled with idle conversation over nothing remotely important. When they finally came to her doorstep, she unlocked the door tentatively, sticking her head inside for a moment before opening the door for Seto to come in.

"I don't think she's home," she murmured, closing the door behind them.

"Is she really that-?" Seto began, but was cut off when Moriah Fides appeared in the doorway, her eyes bright.

"Allie, you brought company!"

"Allie?" he asked her in an undertone, to which she shot him a glare that made him smile once more.

"Seto, this is my mom," Alex sighed. "Mom, this is Seto Kaiba."

"_This_ is Seto!" she gasped, crossing the room as though to get a closer look at him. Seto said nothing, his expression somewhat bewildered as she seemed to examine him. "You're much taller than I thought you'd be."

"Ah... thank you...?"

"Ooh, and aren't your eyes just the prettiest shade of blue?"

"Mom," Alex sighed. "Please stop trying to terrify him."

"I'm just admiring how nice he looks," Moriah said as she smiled at Seto. "You're very handsome. You're just perfect for our Alex."

"Mom!" Alex growled, her eyes widening in embarrassment. "How many times do I have to tell you? We _aren't_ dating!"

"Oh, that's right," her mother said with an almost knowing smile. Alex shook her head, looking back to Seto.

"C'mon, let's go get started," she murmured, gesturing her head towards the staircase. "We have homework, mom. Which means you shouldn't come ask us how we're doing every five minutes, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Allie."

Alex turned, leading Seto up the staircase and down the hall. Both teens were still very much aware of Alex's mother, who stood at the bottom of the staircase, watching as they disappeared from sight. Once they entered Alex's room, she threw her backpack down by the door, sinking her face into her hands.

"Allie?" Seto asked again, glancing around the room at the lack of decoration.

"Say that _one more time_," Alex growled, letting the threat hang empty in the air.

"I think she's nice," he said with a smirk.

"Well, nobody asked for your opinion, blue eyes."

"Touché," he murmured, examining her CD collection. "You have a lot of music."

"I like music," she said as she dug through her bag. "You've got the plastic, right?"

"Yeah, it's in my bag."

"I guess we should go ahead and feed it, and then we can get started on the paperwork."

"Alright." He placed his bag on the floor and reached for the plastic doll, but stopped as his eyes fell on an official KaibaCorp folder. He paused, then stood back up. "Do you mind if I use your phone?"

"Knock yourself out. There's one over there," she said, pointing to a phone that rested on her bedside table. He lifted the receiver to his ear, pushed a few numbers, and waited.

"What's the address here?" he asked Alex over his shoulder.

"343 Willow Road."

"Right." He turned his back on her again, still waiting for someone to pick up on the other end of the line. Just as he was about to hang up he heard a click, then a voice.

"Kaiba Residence."

"It's Mr. Kaiba," Seto said, and suddenly the somewhat lackluster voice on the other end of the line became very alert.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

"There was a change of plans. You won't be picking me up at the library today. Use one of the more inconspicuous vehicles and come to 343 Willow Road. Understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. Will it be at the same time?"

"Yes."

"Very well, sir."

Seto replaced the phone on its cradle, then returned to his backpack from which he took the plastic baby. When he turned back to Alex, she stood with her arms crossed, a smirk upon her face.

"What?" he asked.

"Should I call you Mr. Kaiba, too? I mean, I wouldn't want to insult your ego or anything."

"Can we just deal with the baby?" he sighed, rolling his eyes. Alex's smirk grew into a much less condescending smile.

"You know something, Seto Kaiba? You're missing the one thing money can't buy."

"What's that?" he asked with very little interest.

"A sense of humor. We'll have to work on that, you know."

"Well, I'd rather we just worked on the project."

"Fine. We'll work on your humor later. For now, your son needs feeding."

The next hour went along as it normally would have had the pair been at the library. The plastic baby only let out only one automated cry, to which the brunettes responded by burping it. The rest of the time was spent filling out paperwork about their monetary situations given their income. Neither of them paid any attention to the time, and so it was a bit of a shock when there was a knock from the bedroom door.

"Allie, there's a strange car sitting outside. It's very nice looking, though. Want to come take a look?"

"That's probably my ride," Seto murmured, gathering his paperwork together and stuffing it back inside the project folder. Alex sat quietly, watching him as he packed up his things. When he was all packed up to go, she stood with him, leading him back down the stairs and to the door.

"Oh, you're leaving?" Moriah asked as she saw them walking towards the door. "But you should stay for dinner? We'd love to have you!"

"I can't," Seto said, attempting an apologetic smile. "Perhaps another time?"

"Are you sure?" Moriah probed.

"Mom, he can't," Alex murmured as Seto tried to slowly escape to the door. "He'd love to, but he can't. He's got work to do. Up-and-coming CEO's don't have time to have dinner with their friends. But he'll take a rain check, alright?"

Seto hesitated for only a moment as his hand hovered over the doorknob, the words stirring something within him. However, as Moriah left the room somewhat disheartened, Alex was right behind him, and he quickly exited the house.

"So," Alex sighed as they stood on the doorstep. "Don't kill the baby, alright?"

"I'll try," he said, a flicker of a smile lighting his face. As he hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder, his lips parted as though about to speak. But as his eyes focused on the car, he stopped, all of the color draining from his face. All thought fleeing his mind, he said in a hushed voiced, "What's he doing here?"

Alex looked to the car as well, immediately spotting the source of Seto's anguish. Gozaburo sat in the back seat, his mouth moving as though chatting amiably with the driver.

"It'll be alright," she said softly, her eyes lifting to Seto's hardening expression. He shook his head slowly, his gaze falling to the ground. Seeing his fear, Alex placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Seto, it'll be alright."

"No," he murmured, more to himself than to her. "No, it won't."

But despite his worry, he straightened his back and held his head high. He did not say goodbye, but simply took hold of all of his strength. He knew he would need it for the ride home.

Seto walked to the car and slid into the back seat beside his stepfather, his eyes downcast. As the car pulled away from the house his gaze remained low, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Gozaburo's head turn and watch Alex retreat into her home. For a moment he wondered what Gozaburo was thinking, and the curiosity caused an incredible amount of anger to well up within him.

"So you're studying at her house now?" Gozaburo asked, his voice filling the small car.

"The library was closed for renovations," Seto said quietly, fighting not to let his anger bleed into his voice.

"I see." Gozaburo was quiet for a moment. "The other night when you escorted Miss Fides to the restroom you took a terribly long time. What kept you, exactly?"

"Nothing," Seto answered. "When we were returning to the sitting room she saw a painting that interested her. I simply took the time to show her several more. I did not see the harm in it."

"Oh, no, no harm in it at all," Gozaburo said as he gazed out the window, "if that, in fact, was what you were doing."

Several more minutes passed in silence as the cityscape slowly blended into the outskirts of Domino, 0the large Kaiba Mansion standing ominously in the distance. The car pulled into the long driveway, stopping outside the door to let out its two noble occupants before driving away to its garage. Gozaburo walked to the door slowly with the air of someone in deep thought. All Seto could do was tread along in his shadow.

"Have you asked the girl on a date yet?" Gozaburo asked as they crossed the threshold, a butler holding the door open for them.

"No," Seto said, a sick feeling rising in his stomach.

"I thought my orders were clear," he said, a rumble creeping through his voice.

"I apologize," Seto said, attempting to dodge the chastisement that was likely to follow. "I did not know the decision had been made."

"That is the second time you have lied to me this evening," Gozaburo growled, still not looking at his stepson. "I would have thought that by now you would know better than to lie to _me_."

"I haven't lied-"

"DO _NOT_ CONTRADICT ME!" Gozaburo bellowed, suddenly rounding on Seto, the back of his hand colliding with the right side of Seto's face. The force of the blow knocked Seto to the ground, and he could feel the warmth of blood begin to bubble up at the corner of his mouth. Gozaburo towered over him for a moment, straightening his suit as though attempting to compose himself.

"Seto," the man said, his voice low and dangerous, "do you not think that I know when you are lying and when you are telling the truth? Do you not think that I know what you are doing every minute of every day? You will _never_ escape me. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," Seto said, slowly attempting to climb to his feet.

"Yes _WHAT_!" Gozaburo thundered, his foot colliding with Seto's stomach, the pain forcing him to the ground once more.

"Yes, _father_," Seto gasped through gritted teeth, his hands clenched into fists.

There was a moment of silence as Gozaburo loomed overhead. But after a moment, the evil in his eyes seemed to die away.

"Good," he murmured, smoothing his hair and suit once more. "Very good. Now, I foresaw your inability to carry out these particular orders, so I have made a few plans of my own. This Friday night you will take Miss Fides to a carnival that will be in Downtown Domino. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father."

"Good." Gozaburo turned to walk towards the staircase, but paused and glanced over his shoulder to look at his stepson, still kneeling on the floor. "Oh, and by the by, that same night I will be having a few colleagues over for a small dinner. I would take your brother with you, lest you would like for him to take your place in your bed."

"_Yes, father._"

And that was that. Gozaburo left Seto lying on the floor, the anger bubbling up like the blood on his lips. His fists clenched, his teeth gritted, and his eyes shut tight against the swell of pain and rage.


	16. Feel Like You're Flying

**Author's Note: My dearest readers, I bring you Chapter 16: early as promised, but a little fluffy. Chapter 17 is almost finished, but I'm **_**very**_** excited about it and cannot wait for you all to read it. If everyone is kind enough to review Chapter 16, I might post Chapter 17 on Thursday or Friday. But I want feedback! I got wonderful reviews last chapter, and I loved that all of you said something other than 'Update Soon!' I was even able to analyze with a few of you, which is always a treat! Another round of that kind of reviewing and you'll be getting chapters every other day for the rest of eternity! But enough about that; you guys know how to make me happy. Keep checking the LJ account for updates and a more detailed Author's Note on this chapter. And now, on with the show!**

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"He wants us to _what_?" Alex asked Seto as they walked down the sidewalk of Willow Road.

"He wants me to take you to that carnival on Friday," Seto repeated, his eyes downcast and his face expressionless. He hadn't wanted to tell her in the first place, had waited all day to tell her, and now that he had he regretted it deeply.

"Like a date," she clarified.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"But I thought you said-"

"I know what I said," he growled, running two fingers along the bruised jaw that Gozaburo had given him the day before. It, too, had been hidden by a concealer. "But the decision has been made. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Have you tried to talk to him about it?" she asked, already knowing how stupid the question sounded before it even crossed her lips. She was not surprised when Seto's mirthless laugh met her ears.

"Negotiate with _him_?" he laughed, shaking his head. "Well, yes, Alex, I did. And do you know what I got out of the deal? A bruised jaw and a near-fractured rib. So don't talk to me about negotiations."

"Seto-"

"Can we just not get into this right now?" he asked somewhat exasperatedly. "I'm really not in the mood to get in touch with my feelings."

Alex nodded silently, and the pair walked on in silence for a moment or two. They came to a stop outside Alex's house, their one refuge for study since the library was still closed. As they stopped, however, Seto turned to Alex, his expression unreadable.

"For fear of what might happen if we discussed this around your mother, I'd rather get all of this straightened out now. Will you be coming with us on Friday?"

"Us?"

"Didn't I mention that Mokuba would be coming along as well?"

"No, you forgot that part."

"Well, he will be. So, are you coming or not?"

"Well..." She bit her lip in mock concentration, heaving a deep sigh before answering. "You know, if it were just you I probably wouldn't come. You'd probably be pretty boring at a carnival. But I like that Mokuba kid, so I guess I'll do it for him."

"Good," Seto said, the corners of his mouth twitching at her humor as they began to walk to her front door. "Mokuba will be happy. He's been wanting to see you again under better circumstances. He asks about you almost every other day."

"Funny, he sounds like my mother. She keeps asking me 'When is that good looking boy going to come back?' I mean, she only just met you yesterday. It's disgusting. You'll be lucky if you make it out alive tonight."

"Well, I'll take my chances," Seto said icily as they entered Alex's home. She had no idea how many times he had heard those words before.

. . . . .

The rest of the week passed in mediocrity. There were few nightly events for Seto, no mentioning of the carnival date on Friday, and little fuss from Alex's mother as they studied at her house. But every time Seto would leave for the evening, Moriah Fides would invite him to dinner, and every night he would politely decline. But when Friday finally arrived, a thick air formed between the pair.

"So," Seto murmured as they met at their lockers after school, "I figured we'd skip the project tonight."

"Fine by me," Alex said as she shouldered her backpack. "So how is this going to work? I mean, is he coming with us?"

"Who?"

"Your stepfather."

"No," Seto mumbled bitterly. "He's hosting some sort of affair tonight at the mansion, thank God. I don't know if this would be bearable with him nearby."

"Well, what time are we leaving? And how exactly are we going to get there?"

"Gozaburo wants me to pick you up at about six o'clock."

"And what does Gozaburo want me to wear?" she asked sarcastically, the cold humor bringing a small smile to Seto's lips.

"Wear whatever you'd like."

"You shouldn't say that," she teased. "You might come to get me and find me wearing a Batman costume."

The pair parted ways as Seto climbed into his limo and Alex began her walk home. It was safe to say that there had been a nervous tension between them, as though the looming date put an unbearable amount of strain on their already ill-defined relationship. But despite the confliction of the entire ordeal, Alex couldn't help feeling a twinge of excitement.

Within moments of arriving at her house, she found herself repeating the rituals from the night of the dinner party. She dug through her closet furiously, her mother smiling at her from atop her bed.

"Allie, you really need a new wardrobe."

"Not now, mom!" Alex growled, tossing a tank top over her shoulder. "This is ridiculous! Any day I can pick out what I want to wear just fine-"

"That's because you wear a uniform, sweetie."

"But he asks me out on _one_ fake date and suddenly I don't know what to do with myself!"

"A _fake_ date?"

"His step dad wants him to get a girlfriend, and apparently I'm the only single female in Domino who can put up with Seto's ego for more than five seconds at a time."

"He didn't seem that bad to me."

"That's because he isn't," Alex murmured, staring intently at a lime green shirt. "When did I get _this_?"

"Sounds like you like him," Moriah said with a smile.

"It doesn't matter whether I like him or not, because he doesn't like me. Not like that, anyway."

"How do you know?"

"He told me himself that he doesn't want to go out with me. His exact words were that he didn't 'want it to happen.'"

"Maybe he's just nervous."

"Honestly, mom, I really wouldn't chalk it up to nerves. Maybe ego, but definitely not nerves." Alex dug through a few more shirts, then growled in anger, shaking her head. "It's like this closet just devours good clothing and never gives it back!"

"Sweetheart, just wear something comfortable. It isn't like you're going to another dinner party. It's a carnival!"

By the time six o'clock had rolled around, Alex had tried on four different outfits. When the doorbell rang, she threw on a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt with the '80s Batman symbol emblazoned across the chest, then raced downstairs. Just before she came to the door she stopped, smoothed her hair and clothes, took a deep breath, and then opened the door.

"Hi!" Mokuba exclaimed, waving his hand frantically. Seto stood silently beside his brother, a hint of a smile on his face, dressed in a white, high collar, button up shirt and white slacks. His brother wore a sea foam shirt and khaki shorts.

"Hey, kiddo," Alex said with a smile.

"Are you ready to go?" Mokuba asked excitedly, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"Yeah, just let me grab my bag." She turned to grab a small handbag off an end table, glancing around for any sign of her mother, who seemed to be getting into the habit of being present when she shouldn't be and being absent when she was needed. "Mom, I'm leaving!"

"Okay, Allie, have fun!" Moriah called from another room. Alex couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Alright, let's go," Alex said as she shut the door behind her. Mokuba sped to the car ahead of the teens, but Alex and Seto made their way slowly. "So _he's_ excited."

"He's been bouncing off the walls since this morning." Seto sighed.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" she said with a smile. "But I wish you'd told me you were going to dress formally. I would have picked something else to where."

"You look fine," he murmured, opening the door of the limo for her.

"And I'm glad you picked one of the more inconspicuous vehicles," she said, noting the length and showy nature of the shiny, black limo. Seto shrugged his shoulders, sliding in beside her and shutting the door.

"It get's us from A to B," he murmured as he waved the driver on.

"Careful Seto," Alex murmured in a secretive way. "That was dangerously close to being a joke. If you're not careful, you might just catch one of those 'sense of humor' things I was telling you about."

"Seto says funny things all the time," Mokuba said with an air that he was trying to build his brother up. Alex smiled, laughing under her breath.

"I'm sure he does," Alex said, glancing sideways at their topic of discussion. Seto, however, seemed not to have heard a word that either of them had said. His eyes were trained outside the window, his mind a thousand miles away.

"Seto's been a bit distracted lately," Mokuba murmured, and as though to prove his point, Seto did not even react to the mentioning of his name. "That's why I'm glad you're here! He doesn't usually like this kinda thing. He gets too worried about the press and photographers and stuff."

"Well, we're not going to let Seto spoil our good time, are we?" she said with a wink, making Mokuba's fading smile widen. For the first time Seto seemed to realize that he was somehow involved in the current topic of conversation, and his eyes roamed from the laugh filled faces of Mokuba to Alex.

"What?" he asked, his eyes widening curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Alex said with another wink at Mokuba, who had to stifle laughter behind his hand. Seto's eyes narrowed as a look of annoyance crossed his features.

"So what kind of carnival is this?" Alex asked, attempting to change the subject.

"No idea," Seto murmured as his eyes turned out the window once more.

"It's supposed to be a sort of Halloween carnival," Mokuba answered. "It comes every year. There are rides and games, and there's lots of food too!"

"It sounds like fun." Alex glanced at Seto for a moment before looking back to Mokuba. "How many times have you gone before?"

"We've never gone before," Seto murmured tonelessly. "We were never allowed to go."

"Yeah, this is our first time, just like you!"

The remaining car ride was spent discussing trivial things with very little yet negative input from Seto. Alex told Mokuba about Fairs and Carnivals in America. As he envisioned the events in his mind, it seemed to be almost more than he could bear, causing him to rock back and forth in his seat with excitement. When the car finally came to a stop, Mokuba launched from the back seat, unable to control himself. Seto, however, paused as he turned his eyes on Alex.

"Mokuba doesn't know that Gozaburo arranged all of this," he said quietly, as though afraid Mokuba might overhear. "He thinks we're here of our own free will."

"Look, Seto, I know the whole idea of having fun and hanging around with me really bothers you, and I'm sure that the idea of having fun _with_ me probably mortifies you, but if you'll just loosen up a little I'm sure everything will be okay."

And with that Alex climbed out of the limo, joining Mokuba in his excitement.

"She has a point, sir," the limo driver commented, glancing at Seto in the rearview mirror. Seto eyes narrowed, frowning.

"Just park the limo," Seto growled, exiting the limo. He met up with Alex and Mokuba at the gate, tickets already in their hands.

"Seto, c'mon!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Hurry up!"

"Alright, alright," he mumbled, getting his ticket as well. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the excitement on his brother's face, and despite his objections to the entire event, Mokuba's happiness seemed to make it all worth the trouble.

"So what ride do you want to do first?" Alex asked Mokuba as they entered Domino Park, its usual green lawns covered with tall rides, a variety of booths, and a plethora of neon lights.

"Let's do a roller coaster!" he said, pointing to what looked like a hastily manufactured death trap. Alex had to suppress a laugh, and Seto's eyes widened.

"Mokuba, are you sure-?" he began, but Mokuba quickly jumped up and down.

"Yes, Seto, _please?_" He clapped his hands together in a resemblance of someone praying, his pleading eyes gazing up at his older brother.

"Alright...," Seto sighed, reluctantly following his brother to the ride.

"If we die," Alex murmured in an undertone as they waited in line, "do you think our families can request burying us in the roller coaster car that we died in?"

"_If_ we die?" Seto asked with the smallest of smiles. "I'm pretty sure that you mean _when_ we die."

Alex smothered a laugh with her hand as the trio moved up in line, climbing into one of the cars with Mokuba seated in the middle. He continued to rock back and forth in his seat, practically jumping up and down in excitement. But as the safety bar came down to hold them in place, a sense of regret seemed to flicker across his face.

"Are these really fast?" he asked as the trail of cars slowly began to climb the track.

"They're pretty fast," Alex said, both she and Seto looking down at his suddenly still form. "But it's fun, Mokuba. Don't worry about it."

Mokuba shrank back in his seat, pressing slightly into Seto. Seto's brow creased, frowning.

"It'll only last for a few seconds," Seto murmured. "It'll be okay."

"Mokuba," Alex said quietly, and he looked up at her with a twinge of fear in his eyes, "have you ever wondered what it felt like to fly?"

Mokuba said nothing, but nodded slowly.

"When we go over the top of the ride, you're supposed to put your hands up in the air _really_ high, like you're trying to touch the sky. And if you keep your hands up in the air and close your eyes, you'll feel just like you're flying."

"Really?" he asked quietly, the fear in his eyes slowly ebbing away.

"Mm-hmm," she said as they came to the very crest of the ride. She glanced at Seto for a moment, a fraction of a smile on his lips and a softened look in his eyes. Alex smiled, gently nudging Mokuba with her elbow. "Okay, Mokuba, put your hands in the air..."

As they reached the precipice of the track, Mokuba's arms tentatively did as he was told. Alex lifted her arms as well, as though to emphasize the helpfulness of such an action. Suddenly the car pitched over the track, and screams erupted from the throats of almost every person aboard the coaster. As the car plummeted down the track, Mokuba's eyes grew wide, a smile plastered across his face that stretched from ear to ear. Alex, too, smiled broadly.

The only person who did not appear to be enjoying himself was Seto, whose emotionless mask never faltered. But as the car swerved and gained speed, he leaned forward against the safety bar, his eyes closed against the wind.

For a moment Alex's eyes met Seto, and it amazed her how calm he seemed. He showed no excitement, no fear, no joy. He simply let the wind wash over him. For a moment Alex saw his mask falter, slip, and she realized that this was not his usual solemn expression, but was a look of peace. And she wondered what he was imagining that made him feel so calm, made him look so normal.

When they got off the roller coaster, Mokuba sped along at top speeds, investigating every ride within sight in an effort to find an excitement that could top the roller coaster. As he ran along, Alex and Seto followed slowly behind.

"Where were you just then?" Alex asked quietly, never taking her eyes off of Mokuba.

"What do you mean?" Seto asked, glancing sideways at her. "I was on the-"

"No, I mean, in your mind where were you?" Her eyes turned to meet his. "That's the calmest I've ever seen you. It was like you were imagining that you were somewhere else..."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Seto murmured. Alex shrugged, not pushing the issue.

"Whatever you say, Seto," she sighed, her eyes turning toward Mokuba. Seto glanced sideways at her once more, though he said nothing.

They rode several more rides before it was decided that they should find something to eat. Alex and Mokuba shared some kind of food that resembled a pizza on a stick, while Seto ate nothing, insisting that he wasn't hungry. Shortly after Mokuba continued to beg for a funnel cake, while Seto reminded him that he had just eaten, and shouldn't he wait until they were done with the rides? But Mokuba's incessant pleading was enough to make Seto do anything, and so they bought a large funnel cake. They walked the park as they ate it, glancing at the different game booths and attractions, Mokuba carrying their baked desert while Alex and Seto pulled off small bits as they strolled.

Once the funnel cake was gone, Alex and Mokuba played a few of the carnival games but they came up empty handed. When Mokuba spotted a blue, stuffed dragon hanging atop a dart game, he quickly pointed it out to Seto. His excitement was suddenly equal to what it had been when they had first arrived at the carnival.

"Seto, look!" Mokuba exclaimed. "A dragon!"

"Yeah, Seto," Alex smiled, mimicking Mokuba. "A dragon!"

"Can you win it for me, Seto?" the boy asked, clinging to his brother's hand. "Please?"

"I can try," Seto murmured, his eyes on his little brother, "if you want."

"Yes!" he cried, bolting off to the game booth. Alex couldn't help but smile as she and Seto tailed after him.

"We want the dragon!" Mokuba said to the man running the game. He was a balding man with a huge gut and red cheeks that accompanied a wide smile. He looked very much like a brown-haired Santa Clause dressed in carnival attire.

"Do you, now?" the man chuckled, waving a hand towards the game. "Well, it's five dollars for five darts, and in order to get that dragon you have to pop five balloons in one try."

"Seto can do it," Mokuba said as he gazed up at his brother. "If anyone can do it, Seto can!"

"We'll see," was all that Seto said as he passed the man a five dollar bill. However, he couldn't seem to help but smile.

The man handed Seto five darts. At first, he did nothing, simply staring at them as though weighing them in his hand. Then he fixed each needle point tightly, bending them so they were straight. Finally he lifted his eyes to the board of balloons, lifting the darts as well. He threw each fairly quickly, allowing for only a second or so between each throw. Five short pops echoed from the board, each the sound of another balloon bursting.

"Tell the man what you want, Mokuba," Seto said, unable to mask a satisfied smirk.

"The dragon!" Mokuba exclaimed again, beaming. The large man seemed dazed for only a moment, before his cheery smile reappeared.

"We have a winner!" he cried as he removed the dragon from its place on the wall, handing it to Mokuba. "Here you go, young sir!"

"You'll do anything for him, won't you?" Alex asked Seto in an undertone, watching as Mokuba hugged his new dragon close.

"Whatever he wants," Seto said quietly, "he should have. He deserves it."

As the night wore on Seto stopped going on rides with Alex and Mokuba, instead standing alone, holding Mokuba's dragon for him. Alex and Mokuba bought a bag of cotton candy, then caramel apples, but Seto never took so much as a bite. After several long hours, Mokuba's excitement seemed to die, replaced by exhaustion.

"Maybe we should leave," Alex said quietly as Mokuba's walk began to slow. "It's been a long day."

"I think that's best," Seto agreed as he pulled out his phone, making a quick call to the limo driver to be waiting outside the park when they exited. Mokuba seemed prepared to protest, but when he failed to stifle a yawn there seemed to be no point in debating the subject any longer.

They rode home in silence, Mokuba sitting between the two teens, his head resting against Seto's arm and his arms clutched tightly around his stuffed dragon as he began to drift off into sleep. When the limo came to a stop in front of Alex's house, Mokuba sat up sleepily, glancing around as though wondering where they were.

"I'll walk you to your door," Seto said quietly, opening his door as Alex opened hers.

"You really don't-"

"It's proper etiquette," he interjected. Unable and unwilling to argue, Alex shrugged as she got out of the car.

"Seto!" Mokuba whispered, suddenly wide awake as his brother stepped out of the limo. "I've seen this on TV! This is the part where you kiss her, okay?"

Seto's eyes widened slightly, glancing sideways at Alex who stood only a few feet away. He wasn't sure if she had heard, though just as Mokuba spoke she lifted her hand to her mouth, as though trying to hide a giggle.

She must have heard.

"Thanks, Mokuba," Seto sighed, shutting the door as his brother smiled up at him, clearly pleased with himself. The brunette turned to Alex, gesturing towards the door with an open hand.

"I had a good time," Alex said as they walked to the door, coming to stop on the porch. "And if I'm not mistaken, you might have had a little fun yourself."

Seto said nothing as his gaze fell to the ground, though a small smile on his lips affirmed Alex's observation.

"I'll see you on Monday, then," she said, digging for her keys in her pocket. She turned to unlock the door, but Seto looked up at her, his brow creased slightly.

"Alex?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah?" she answered, letting her hand fall from the door as she turned back to face him.

"I wanted to... to talk to you about... about what I said on Monday. About not wanting this-" and he paused, gesturing from her to himself and then back to her, "-to happen."

"Seto, it's okay. There are things about you that I don't understand. I get it. You really don't have to-"

"No, I do. You're involved in this now. _He_ involved you in this. You have a... a right to understand." He glanced back at the limo for a moment, certain that Mokuba was watching them through the tinted windows. "When I said that I didn't want to encourage Gozaburo, that I didn't want him to encourage us, I meant it. When I said that I didn't _want_ this to happen... I meant to say... I meant that if something _was_ to happen between us, I would want it to be because it was what I wanted, not because he was ordering me to do it."

"Alright, then," she said, nodding slowly as her eyes met Seto's. "What _do_ you want?"

He paused for a moment before, shaking his head slowly. "I... I don't know..."

"Good night, Seto," Alex sighed shortly, turning back to the door once more. But Seto reached out a hand and grabbed her arm, turning her back to face him.

"This is what I meant," he said, suddenly inches apart from her. "This is something you don't understand. I can't remember the last time that someone asked me what I _wanted_. It was always an order, never a question. 'Seto, do this,' and 'Seto, do that.' It's been so long, I don't know what I want anymore. I don't know how to tell the difference between something _I_ want and something _he_ wants."

He shook his head, his face concentrated in what seemed like anger. "I don't know if I like you because it's how I feel, or because it's how he wants me to feel. I can't... I can't tell anymore..." he concluded, his eyes falling to the ground once more, his hand releasing her arm and falling to his side.

"Seto...," she murmured, lifting a gentle hand to touch his arm. But as she did so he took a step back, avoiding her touch. All the while his gaze remained downturn, almost as though in shame.

"Seto," she repeated, "it's okay. I understand. You have to decide for yourself what you want - what's going to make you happy. And whenever you do, I'm going to be here. Just let me know."

And that was it. She turned, unlocked the front door, entered her house and locked the door behind her. And Seto stood silently, staring at the doorway, a frown creasing his brow once more.

Slowly he turned and walked back to the limo, sliding into his seat and waving the driver on. Mokuba lay in the seat beside him, seemingly asleep. As the car began its long journey back to the Kaiba Mansion and Seto's eyes turned to the passing scenery once more, Mokuba sat up beside him, rubbing his eyes. For a moment he said nothing, then sighed.

"You blew it," Mokuba asked drowsily, "didn't you?"

For a moment Seto said nothing, simply staring out the window. Finally, though, he too sighed.

"Yeah, Mokuba. I blew it."


	17. What I Want

**Author's Note: So, once again we have a nice, long chapter. It's possible that Seto's slightly OOC and that the entire event is a bit premature, but I'll let you be the judge of that. As I've been saying, I'm very fond of this chapter for many different reasons. There's a minute bit of fluff around the last half or three-quarters, but don't overreact; nothing good ever lasts, and you all know it. So, have a good read, leave a **_**great**_** review (be brutally honest; don't hold back!), and don't forget to check the LJ!**

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Seto sat with Mokuba in the first floor sitting room of the Kaiba Mansion, his eyes boring a hole into the contents of his algebra book. But despite his apparent concentration, his eyes was unfocused, not even seeing the text book, hardly realizing it was there at all.

He couldn't help but think of the night before, of his final conversation with Alex. As he had spoken to her it had been as though the words simply came and he couldn't control them. He had said things to her that he hadn't thought to himself in the longest time. About not knowing what he wanted, not knowing how he felt...

To think of what he had said made him sick. It had kept him up all night, kept him pacing back and forth. He felt like a puppet, controlled by Gozaburo. He couldn't think for himself, couldn't talk for himself. He couldn't even feel for himself. And now that he might actually be feeling something other than anger and hate and emptiness - now that he might be feeling something for another human being - he couldn't be sure if it was authentic emotion or simply a feeling forced upon him by his stepfather.

He had felt lucky when he arrived home the night before: Gozaburo was no where to be seen. Seto thought nothing of it, or at least nothing more than assuming his stepfather had moved his social affair elsewhere, possibly to KaibaCorp. It had never occurred to him to be concerned about Gozaburo's return, as he was too caught up in his own thoughts to really give it the proper consideration.

It was something he immediately regretted when he heard the front door slam, shortly followed by a voice echoing throughout the mansion.

"SETO, WHERE ARE YOU?" Gozaburo bellowed, his footsteps thundering down the halls. His voice wavered in a way that suggested he had been drinking, and it was this that gave Seto fear.

"Mokuba," Seto muttered as he rose to his feet, "go to you room."

"I don't want to!" Mokuba gasped, moving to his brother's side.

"Do as I-!"

"I don't want to have to listen!" he breathed, staring up at Seto with wide eyes. At first Seto had no idea what Mokuba was talking about, and he didn't have too much time to think about it. But as he gazed down at the fear in his brother's eyes, a terrible thought occurred to him.

"What have you heard?" he asked quietly, forgetting for a moment that his stepfather was hungrily searching for him.

"Sometimes I hear him yelling, and sometimes I can... I can hear you... screaming..."

"Why didn't you tell me about-?" Seto began, but the sound of Gozaburo's voice silenced him.

"SETO!" Gozaburo yelled, "TIME FOR SOME HANDS-ON TRAINING, _SON_!"

Seto's mind raced. He had never realized just how much noise he and Gozaburo must have made, and it had never occurred to him that Mokuba would be able to hear. That he could hear Seto - the older brother who was supposed to be his protector - screaming in pain at the hands of their stepfather...

"Seto?" Mokuba whispered, moving behind his brother as Gozaburo passed the door. Seto braced himself as though to protect his younger brother, but it seemed as though their stepfather, in his drunken stupor, had not even noticed the boys.

As Gozaburo stumbled by, Seto's mind worked feverishly. He had always tried to assure that Mokuba would never know what Gozaburo did to him, but now... If Mokuba had overheard every hell that Seto had been through, then he was just as terrified as his older brother. And though Seto did not have a choice, and though he suffered so that Gozaburo would never lay a hand on Mokuba, he would not let Mokuba suffer with him.

"Mokuba," Seto murmured, looking down at his brother. "Listen to me: I want you to leave."

"What?"

"I want you to go down to the garage and tell one of the drivers to take you to 343 Willow Road. Understand?"

"I can't leave you!" Mokuba exclaimed, but Seto's eyes silenced any further protests he might have had.

"You'll do as I say," Seto growled, glancing over his shoulder at the door. It seemed that Mokuba had more to say, but Gozaburo's shouts filled him with a fear that silenced any objections. Seto turned quickly, holding tightly to Mokuba's arm as he raced from the room with his brother at his heels, tearing through the halls until they came to a stop before the front door.

"Go," Seto said as he opened the door for his brother, very much aware of the sound of Gozaburo's footsteps approaching down the hall.

"But what about you?"

"I'll come get you as soon as I can," Seto said, his eyes meeting Mokuba's. "You'll be okay there. Everything will be fine."

"Seto-!"

"Mokuba, _go_!" he growled, pushing his bother over the threshold. His eyes met Mokuba's one last time, his face set in its emotionless mask. "343 Willow Road. Understand?"

Mokuba said nothing, but nodded his head as his brow knitted in concern. Seto quickly closed the door, turning back to face the entry hall. Before him, at the foot of the staircase, stood his stepfather, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

"What are you doing, Seto?" he asked coldly.

"Nothing," he said quietly, taking several steps away from the door.

"Oh, really?" Gozaburo asked, though it didn't seem as though his stepson's activities truly interested him. The way that his eyes raked over Seto's body suggested that he had only one thing in mind. "Not trying to get away, are you?"

"No, sir."

"How was your date last night?" Gozaburo asked as he turned, very slowly, back to the staircase, taking a seat on the bottom stair and relaxing back on the steps.

"It went as planned."

"Did you have _fun_?" Gozaburo asked, but Seto refused to respond as he watched his stepfather with a wary eye. When Gozaburo realized he wasn't going to get an answer, he laughed darkly. "Did you have _fun_ with her, Seto?"

"I didn't know that 'having fun' was a part of my orders," Seto answered, his fists clenching tightly behind his back in anger. He knew what the word 'fun' meant to Gozaburo, and the allusion caused his anger to surface once more.

"Come here," Gozaburo said, beckoning Seto with his finger. Against his will, as though controlled by Gozaburo's puppeteer like force once more, he walked forward, coming to a stop less than a foot from his stepfather. Gozaburo's eyes roamed up and down Seto's body, smiling as he met his gaze once more.

There was a moment of absolutely stillness before Gozaburo's hand shot out in a flash of movement. His fingers wound tightly around Seto's wrist, pulling him forward as Gozaburo forced him facedown on the stairs. Colliding with the steps forced a gasp of pain through Seto's lips, but that pain was nothing compared to what he felt when Gozaburo placed himself atop Seto, lying against him and forcing him down with his weight.

"Did you kiss her, Seto?" Gozaburo asked, his words accompanied by the heat of his breath on the back of Seto's neck.

"No, sir," Seto said through gritted teeth as his stepfather pressed his lips against his throat, biting into his skin.

"Did you hold her hand?" he asked, tracing the length of Seto's arms with his fingers before enveloping Seto's hands in his own.

"No, sir."

"Did you even _touch_ her?" he whispered sadistically as his lips brushed against Seto's earlobe. A wave of disgust washed over the brunette as he attempted to incline his head forward and away from Gozaburo.

"_Answer me, _Seto," Gozaburo hissed, positioning his stepson's arms against the stairs above his head before tracing his fingers down his sides, then slipping his arms around his waist to begin the process of unfastening the boy's pants.

"_No, sir,_" Seto growled, clutching tightly to the edge of one of the steps in an attempt to keep from striking out at his stepfather.

"Good," Gozaburo growled with a smile. "You know how I hate sloppy seconds..."

. . . . .

Alex sat on the couch in her living room, her eyes locked on the TV. When she had first turned on the television, she had been determined to find something that would distract her from the previous night. But it was now, half an hour later, that she punched the power button on the TV remote, abandoning all hope for a distraction.

She couldn't help but think of the night before. She had enjoyed her time with Seto and Mokuba, and was glad that Seto had actually opened up to her about something. But at the same time, what he had said concerned her. And what was more, she wondered what Gozaburo would ask him about their date. What Seto would tell him, and what Gozaburo might do if Seto didn't say what he wanted to hear.

The sound of the doorbell jerked Alex from her thoughts. Rising to her feet, she wondered who could be at the door. She wasn't expecting anyone, Thomas was still at work, and her mother had gone out to run errands and would be gone most of the day. But when she peered through the peephole in the door, it was an understatement to say that she was surprised. She quickly unlocked the deadbolt and threw the door open.

"Mokuba!" she said, her eyes wide. For a moment she glanced past him, as though looking for some sign of Seto, but all she saw was on of the Kaibas' 'inconspicuous cars' pulling away from the drive. As her gaze returned to Mokuba, she realized for the first time that he had tears in his eyes. She knelt down instantly, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Mokuba, what's wrong?" she asked quickly. "What happened?"

"Gozaburo," was all that Mokuba said, sniffling.

"What did he do?" Alex asked. "Mokuba, where's Seto?"

"He's at home... with Gozaburo..."

Alex's creased brow and hardened frown softened to a look of unyielding sympathy. She wiped a tear or two from Mokuba's cheeks, then rose to her feet, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as she lead him into the house. Sitting him down on the couch, she sat beside him and watched him in silence.

"Mokuba?" she said softly after a minute or two, and the boy's eyes turned up to meet hers. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Gozaburo..." he said, but then paused again as though afraid to tell Alex.

"It's okay," she said quietly, placing a gentle hand upon his arm. "You can tell me."

"He... he came home drunk," Mokuba said after a moment more of hesitation. "Seto told me to come here so that I wouldn't hear... whatever Gozaburo... did to him..."

Mokuba's eyes fell to his lap, and Alex's gaze fell as well. She hated the very words that he said: 'so that I wouldn't hear whatever Gozaburo did to him.' She could only imagine what kind of torture Gozaburo was putting Seto through at that very moment. But she couldn't imagine it; she couldn't bear to think about it.

"Seto didn't know that I was able to hear him all this time," Mokuba said quietly, tears bubbling up in his eyes once more. His eyes closed tightly against the tears, but they slowly trailed down his cheeks as his fists clenched tightly.

"Mokuba-" Alex began, but he shook his head angrily.

"Why does he have to hurt Seto?" Mokuba cried. "He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Of course he hasn't done anything wrong," Alex said quietly. "Gozaburo is a terrible person. And it may not seem like it now, but one day he's going to pay for _everything_ he's done to you and your brother."

"Only good people pay for what bad people have done..." Mokuba said, his eyes falling once more.

"That isn't true," she whispered. "Who told you that?"

"Seto," he murmured without looking up.

"Seto only says that because not too many good things have happened to him."

"Nothing good _ever_ happens to Seto," Mokuba said as his head hung low.

"That isn't true, either," Alex said, placing a gentle finger under his chin to tilt his head up. "He has you, doesn't he? And you help him more than you know. He protects you and looks after you. You give him a reason to keep living. You're the best thing that's ever happened to him."

Mokuba fell silent, rubbing the tears from his eyes and wiping his nose on his sleeve as he sniffled. His eyes fell for a moment more before they met Alex's gaze again.

"He has you, too," he said with some sense of finality. She blinked, before nodding slowly.

"That's right," she murmured, taking Mokuba's hand in hers. A small smile touched his lips, and she mirrored him reassuringly. "He's got me, too, even if he won't admit it. And I'll be here for him whenever he needs me."

Mokuba and Alex passed the next few hours in a state of uneasy calm. Mokuba explained what had happened prior to his arrival in more detail, pointedly including the fact that Seto had been heavily contemplating his last conversation with Alex all morning. Once Mokuba had told Alex that Seto would be coming for him 'as soon as he could,' she felt a knot form in her stomach. She could only imagine how long it might be until Gozaburo had finished with him, and how much longer until he was capable of moving on his own. She voiced none of this to Mokuba, and instead tried to distract him with her homework. She explained her algebra to him, and he 'helped' her work out the math with a surprising amount of efficiency for someone so young - a talent she assumed Seto had something to do with. But no matter what distractions they employed, nothing could rid the air of the nervous tension that Seto's absence brought.

It was sometime around five-thirty when Mokuba fell asleep beside Alex on her bed. He had dozed off while watching Alex try to figure out her math assignment, and had curled up against her side, his brow slightly furrowed in his sleep. Alex continued working on her homework, straining to keep her mind from wandering back to Seto.

It was a quarter past six when three knocks echoed from the front door.

Alex rose from her bed as quickly as she could without disturbing Mokuba. She closed her bedroom door behind her, then raced downstairs and into the entry way. She did not even bother to look through the peephole this time, but instead simply threw back the dead bolt and opened the door.

"Where is he?" was all that Seto asked.

"Come inside," Alex murmured, her happiness to see him melting into a pained expression as Seto walked past her, a slight limp in his step.

He wore the same clothes from the night before, though they were incredibly disheveled, and he stood slightly hunched over - not at all his typically regal self. One arm clutched tightly around his rib cage, with the other hanging loosely at his side. The high collar of his white shirt was fastened tightly around his neck, but it could not hide the bruises and bite marks that trailed up his throat. Alex could only imagine what wounds tattooed the rest of his body, hidden by his long sleeve shirt and pants. And yet all the while he wore that same expressionless mask upon his face.

"Where is he?" Seto repeated, his gaze turning toward the staircase.

"He's up stairs in my room," Alex answered, watching as Seto walked to the steps. She followed him quietly, frowning as she watched him climb the stair case slowly. Each step was a struggle of its own, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath and a wince. Once on the second floor he led the way to her bedroom, his movement deteriorating with each step. When he finally reached her door he opened it slowly, leaning against the doorframe to keep from falling over as his eyes fell upon Mokuba's sleeping figure.

"He's been worried sick," Alex whispered, not wanting to wake him. "I don't know why you sent him here. He-"

"I can trust you," was all that Seto said, his eyes never wavering from his younger brother. Alex's gaze lifted to Seto's face, and behind the emotionless facade she could see a hollowness in his eyes, the blue eyes void of anything but pain and sadness. He looked old - older than he was, at least - and he looked tired. He looked as though he had walked a thousand miles searching for something, and upon finally having found it, he was disappointed...

"Let him sleep," Alex said softly, reaching out to touch Seto's arm but thinking better of it. "You should get cleaned up. You don't want him to see you like this."

The words seem to awaken something in Seto, and he nodded slowly, turning away from the room as Alex quietly shut the door. She led him to a bathroom a few feet further down the hall, closing the door behind them as they entered, not wanting anything they might say to drift down the hall to Mokuba.

"Why don't you sit down?" Alex said quietly, gesturing towards the edge of the bathtub. Seto did as he was told, his vacant stare trained on the floor. Everything he did was lifeless and drained, as though there was no soul left within him and his body simply wandered around, doing as others told it. Watching Seto so defeated, Alex truly felt as though she would be sick.

"Seto?" she asked quietly. There was no response. Silently she moved to him, kneeling down in front of him and staring up into his eyes. He made no movement that would suggest he even saw her, save for the fact that his eyes fell a trace more so that he would not have to meet her gaze. She lifted her hand to touch his, but at the slightest touch he jerked away.

"Don't," he murmured, leaning back from her as he shook his head.

"Seto, I'm only here to help you."

"I don't need your help," he snapped, his anger suddenly lashing out from the depths of his pain. Alex shook her head.

"If you didn't need my help, then you wouldn't be here."

For the first time his eyes met hers, and though he did not agree, he did not object either. Alex gazed up at him for a moment more, then rose to her feet, crossing to the sink and stooping down to reach into the counter below it.

"What happened?" she asked as she dug around for a wash cloth and peroxide. "Mokuba said that Gozaburo was drunk."

"I don't think it would have mattered whether he'd been drunk or sober," Seto sighed, watching her. "He got what he wanted, and he would have wanted it either way."

"And what was it that he wanted?" she asked, turning to meet his gaze.

"Me."

Alex's eyes softened for a moment as she stared into Seto's hardened gaze. She wanted to say something that would make some sense of the abuse, or at least make Seto feel better, but she could think of nothing. As she struggled with her words, she noticed a red stain beginning to grow along the shoulder of his shirt.

"You're bleeding," she said quietly, opening the bottle of peroxide and pouring a small amount onto the washrag. She turned back to Seto, lifting her hands to the top-most button of his shirt. Once again he jerked back, this time knocking her hand away with his.

"Don't!" he growled, lifting his arm as though to shield himself. For a moment Alex stood, silent, unmoving.

"Seto, why won't you let me touch you?" she asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper. "Is it really because you feel like your sin will come off on me? Or is it because you think I'll hurt you, just like everyone else?"

Seto froze, turning the words over in his mind. He knew that the first assumption was true. He knew that the slightest contact with anything pure, and he would contaminate it with the sin forced into him. But what struck him was the fact that he could not deny the latter sentence either. Every time she touched him, he tensed up, started, couldn't bare to be so physically close to anyone let alone her. After all, what was to keep her - or anyone else for that matter - from hurting him as Gozaburo had?

"Why would I hurt you?" she asked when he didn't respond.

"Why wouldn't you?" he returned, staring at the floor. He had known better than to answer her, but at the same time he was tired of being so reserved. It was with her that he had been capable of showing something more than apathy. With her that he could be angry, repulsed, and even something short of happy. What was to make this any different? If he could be so many different things with her, why couldn't he fall apart with her, too?

"Because I care about you," she said softly, and his eyes lifted to meet hers. "I know that you... you don't understand what you're feeling or what you want. I understand that you've learned to separate yourself from that kind of feeling. But I haven't, I can't. I know what he's doing to you is wrong, that you're hurting, and I want more than anything to help you."

Seto did not respond, his gaze falling once more. But when Alex moved to unbutton his shirt once more, he did not try to stop her. Very slowly her fingers opened the shirt, and with every button she unfastened a new wound was revealed. When she had finished with the last button, she pulled the shirt down and away from his shoulders, letting it hang halfway on his arms. Scratch marks littered his shoulders, chest, and the small of his back. Several still rained drops of blood down his skin, but many had dried over and simply stood as testaments to what Gozaburo had done. Alex turned back to the sink as soon as the cuts met her eyes, not sure if she could bear the sight of them.

Taking the peroxide-dipped rag in her hands, she tried to right her stomach before turning back to face Seto. Her heart broke as she saw him there, sitting shirtless on the edge of the tub, shaking infinitesimally in an almost vulnerable way. She lifted one hand and placed it gently against a woundless spot on his shoulder, trying to steady him. He jumped slightly, tensing up at the touch, but did not jerk away.

"This might hurt just a little," she breathed, gently pressing the rag to one of the open cuts. Seto showed no signs of feeling the disinfectant's sting, and Alex wondered how many times magnified was the pain he was used to feeling in comparison to this? As she gently wiped the blood from the wounds, cleaning even the cuts that had already begun to scab, Seto remained slightly hunched over, his eyes boring into the floor.

There was something about the way that she touched him. Yes, what she did caused pain, but it wasn't done with the intent to cause pain, and he could feel that in her hands. It was like something he had never felt before. Whenever Gozaburo touched him it was in anger or lust, always negative. And whenever Mokuba hugged him or clung to his hand it was out of security or fear. Though he had never felt that sense of caring that she had mentioned, he recognized it in the way that her fingers brushed his skin. With every new wound that she cleaned, Seto seemed to become more relaxed. As she worked, his mind began wandering to their conversation from the night before, to all of the time he had spent between then and now thinking about 'what he wanted.'

"I'll get you a clean shirt," Alex murmured as she finished with the last cut. She turned from the room, returning moments later with a button up shirt that most likely belonged to her stepfather. She handed it to him, but he did not move, simply staring down at the cloth in his hands.

"I've been thinking about... what we discussed yesterday..." he murmured. "And I still don't think... I don't know what I... what I want..."

"Seto-"

"But I know what I don't want," he said, his eyes lifting slightly, fixating on her shoes. His voice hoarsened as he pressed on. "I don't want to cringe just because someone taps me on the shoulder or... or grabs my hand. I don't want to be afraid."

"That's good, Seto," Alex said quietly.

"And I do know that I... that I want to be able to protect Mokuba... To be a good brother... To... to get that bastard out of our lives..." He paused for a moment, thinking, as though revelation came to him with the words that he spoke. "I want to be happy, like you... And I... I think I want to be happy... _with_ you..."

Alex gently took his face in her hands and he did not fight against her. She tilted his head up so that their eyes met. There were tears at the corners of her eyes as she stared at him sadly, and she could see a slight wetness in his eyes as well.

"I want to be happy," he repeated, "and I want _this_. Not because he wants me to have it, but... but because it's what I want."

There was a moment more of silence before he rose to his feet, standing so close to her that their clothing brushed as he moved. He lifted an almost trembling hand to touch her cheek, but froze less than an inch away, as though terrified for their skin to meet. Terrified that some of his sin would wipe off on her. She lifted her own hand, placing it gently over his as she tilted her face into his palm, her eyes never leaving his.

His head inclined, tilting towards hers. His gaze fell from her eyes to her lips, and his breathing nearly stopped.

"What do _you_ want?" he asked her, his voice barely a whisper. She smiled at him tenderly, blinking back her tears. Just as she was about to speak, however, the sound of the front door opening and closing drifted up stairs.

"Allie, I'm home!" called Moriah Fides from the entry way. "Are you around?"

Alex did not call back, not wanting to ruin what small and insignificant moment this might be. As her mother called her name again, Seto winced slightly against the sound, as though it had punctured whatever state of lucidity he had reached in the last few moments.

"Why don't you and Mokuba stay for dinner?" she breathed, smiling slightly as she added, "Cash in that rain check?"

As Seto's hand fell to his side he looked as though he might decline. He hesitated for a moment, his eyes falling. But as Alex's hand gently touched his, his eyes met hers once more.

"Alright. We'll stay."

. . . . .

Dinner was fairly uneventful. Moriah asked very few probing questions about the relationship - or lack thereof - between Alex and Seto. When she did, Tom would interject, saying it was really none of their business, and that she shouldn't keep bothering them about it. Mokuba seemed to enjoy the family setting, and Seto's presence beside him seemed to clear up any worries he might have earlier had.

No one seemed to notice the stiffness in Seto's movement save for Alex, or if they did they said nothing. Alex wondered if it was possible for everyone to ignore such rigidity, or perhaps they simply attributed it to Seto's uptight manner. She wondered if it was possible that Seto, when he was younger, had often tried to call attention to the abuse that he suffered, but everyone ignored it. That perhaps that was why he was so dead set on refusing help now.

The pleasantness of the dinner was short lived. Once their meal had concluded, Seto was bent on returning home for fear of Gozaburo hunting him down. He made a call to one of the Kaibas' many drivers, then stepped out with Alex and Mokuba on the front porch to wait for their ride. Mokuba busied himself with trying to catch fireflies, while Seto sat beside Alex on the front steps, so close that they could feel the other person move.

"Seto," she murmured softly, looking sideways at him. He said nothing, his eyes fixed on Mokuba. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, his voice its usual monotone. They sat in silence for a moment, and then she sighed.

"You asked me earlier what I wanted?" she murmured, careful not to let Mokuba hear. Seto did not respond, and so she pressed on. "Seto, I want you to be happy. You can't let Gozaburo dictate what makes you happy. You can't say that just because he tells you to do something you'll do it, or just because he tells you to do something you won't. But if just this once following his order makes you happy, then you shouldn't let him stop you. Because if you do, you're just letting him manipulate you."

Seto still said nothing, though his eyes finally turned toward Alex. In the background the car pulled up and honked, and Mokuba turned and called his name. But in that moment he heard none of this. As his eyes met hers it was as though he saw something within them that made him forget everything. Made him forget his sins, his stepfather, how repulsive he found himself. And in that moment, when only they existed, Seto kissed Alex.

The few times before that Seto had been kissed, it had been uncomfortable, rough, and there were no words to describe how much it disgusted him. It was forced and brutal, and he was always at the mercy of someone else, always attempting to block the slimy intruder of another person's tongue from gagging him.

But this was entirely different. Like Alex's touch, her kiss was like something he had never felt before. It was soft and gentle, almost tentative. It was tender and careful, as though she feared that she might break him. She never deepened the kiss, always letting him move first so as not to make him uncomfortable. But Seto was almost instantly at ease with her kiss, as though he had known it all his life.

When their lips finally parted, Seto rested his forehead gently against hers, his eyes closing as though trying to preserve the warm feeling that swelled within him for another day when he would need it. He could only assume that this warmth was some kind of compassion, for he could not remember ever having felt anything of its kind or strength before. This must have been that caring feeling that Alex had talked about. The thing that told her that seeing him hurt and hurting with him was better than letting him suffer alone.

"Seto?" she breathed softly as he felt her hand gently touch his cheek. He opened his eyes, staring into hers, swallowing hard as he tried to find his voice, only managing a whisper as he said,

"_This_ is what I want."


	18. Look Like an Angel

**Author's Note: I'm going to save the majority of my comments for my LiveJournal entry (remember that you can find a link to my LiveJournal on my profile). Know only that I have a grudge against this chapter, that it shows in my writing, and that if you wanted some more fluff to wash the beginning of Chapter 17 out of your mouth then you've got it. **

**Also, I want to remind anonymous readers that they can review this story and I will respond to their reviews on my LiveJournal as well. **_**Please**_** review! I **_**truly**_** appreciate the feedback. And now I give you Chapter 18.**

* * *

Autumn slowly gave way to winter, and every passing day brought a new chill to the Japanese wind. It had been a little over three weeks since Seto and Alex's first date, and in that time it was agreed that whatever had formed between them should be kept private. There was to be no holding hands at school, no sitting together in classes they wouldn't normally sit together in, no eating lunch together and no walking each other to their classes. They were to show no public signs of affection, no outward signs of attraction, and that as far as anyone else was concerned they were not together. Of course photographers had gotten several pictures of Seto, Mokuba and Alex at the carnival, but the stories could only be sold in tabloids as no one could confirm whether the couple was dating or not. In fact the only person who knew for certain that Alex and Seto were together was Mokuba, and Alex had jokingly - but affectively - sworn him to secrecy on pain of death.

"It's for the best," Seto explained late one November afternoon as the pair sat tucked away in a secluded corner of the library - the area where they did most of their studying nowadays. Here they had never been disturbed, not even by the passing librarian, and it was here that they had become less guarded with what little affection they outwardly shared. Today they sat against the wall beside each other, so close that their shoulders touched.

"You've told me that before," Alex said quietly, glancing over the HomeEc paperwork that they had just finished. "I was hoping you might give me a real explanation this time..."

"It's complicated."

"I don't have to understand it," she murmured. "But an explanation that I can't understand is better than no explanation at all."

Seto glanced sideways at her and their eyes met. Only once had she asked why he preferred not to make their relationship public. And he had responded the same way: 'It's complicated.' He had known the answer wouldn't hold, and had been trying to think of an explanation ever since. Once again he found that he would rather tell her the truth, but again he found that he wasn't all too comfortable with admitting the truth to himself, let alone her.

"I can't..." he began, but his words failed him. His gaze fell to the floor as he thought for a moment. "I can't let them think that I'm weak..."

"Who?" she asked, turning slightly to face him. She thought she already knew the answer, but she wanted Seto to admit it aloud, to at least talk about it. When he didn't speak, she prompted him. "The kids at school? Your paparazzi?"

"There's that," he murmured. "I do have my pride, you know..."

"Oh, I know," Alex said with a smile, and despite the lighthearted comment Seto could not free himself from his train of thought.

"But it isn't just the media and the kids at school," he pressed on darkly. "There's Gozaburo, his colleagues, his... _partygoers_... Then there's our competition..."

"What do they have to do with us?"

"Attachment," he said very quietly, "is a form of weakness. Needing someone is a form of weakness. Mokuba... you... you're two of the very few things I've attached myself to."

"And that makes us weaknesses?"

"No," he said quickly. "No, you don't make me weak. But... but people like Gozaburo have a knack for taking strengths and using them against you... making them into weaknesses..."

"What d'you mean?"

"Let's take Mokuba for instance," Seto said, lowering his voice to a whisper as he turned to face Alex, still never bringing his eyes to meet hers. "From the day Gozaburo adopted us, he's used Mokuba against me. Used him as a pawn. He tells me what he'll do to my little brother if I don't follow his orders. How he'll hurt him, how he'll make him take my place at his little dinner parties... How he'll make him feel everything I've felt ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times over. And no matter how angry it makes me, there's nothing I can do about it... And he knows that."

"And Mokuba-"

"Has no idea the way Gozaburo uses him," Seto growled under his breath. "Has no idea _why_ I let Gozaburo do what he does to me."

"But he does know that you're protecting him," Alex added quietly. "He knows that you're looking out for him. He appreciates you, Seto."

"He doesn't have to appreciate me," Seto said as their eyes finally met, "so long as he's safe."

Alex smiled slightly, gently touching her fingertips to the back of his hand. His gaze fell to the touch, stiffening slightly before he swallowed hard and relaxed once more.

"One day - a very long time from now - I'm going to inherit all of Kaiba Corporation," Seto said breathlessly. "I'll get everything that Gozaburo has. On that day everyone who has ever used me or taken advantage of me... they're going to come back, and they're going to try to use me again, try to take what's rightfully mine. And on that day I cannot have any weaknesses. On that day, I'll have to forget all of my attachments and fight for what's mine. On that day, the only thing that will matter to me will be KaibaCorp."

"And the people that care about you," Alex said quietly, entwining her fingers with his, "will be waiting for you, so that when you don't have to fight anymore you'll have someone to tell you it was all worth it. You'll have someone to say that they're proud of you."

He glanced up at her for a moment more, her words leaving him speechless. But she smiled, then stood up.

"C'mon, let's go," she said, gently pulling him to his feet by his hand. He glanced down at her, still slightly confused.

"Where are we going?" he asked as she stooped to grab his bag, handing it to him.

"Your ride'll be here soon," she said with a breath of laughter. "You don't want to be late out there, especially if _he_'s here."

Whatever small smile had been forming on his lips vanished. But she squeezed his hand gently, giving him a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay," she said softly, smiling up at him as they stood only inches apart. Her smile softened Seto's eyes and summoned the smallest of smiles back to his lips. His head tilted downward and for a moment it seemed he might lower his lips to meet hers. But the fact that they were in public seemed to call him back to his senses and he quickly took a step back from her, his eyes dropping to the floor as his smile faded. Smiling at him sadly, she locked her fingers with his for a moment more, tugging his hand gently in an effort to convince him to look at her once more.

"Seto?" she murmured, and his gaze lifted to meet hers, watching as her smile widened. "I don't care if anyone knows about us. And I don't care that you don't like public shows of affection. None of that matters. All that matters is that you're happy with this, remember?"

Seto said nothing, simply nodding his head. He thought in silence for a moment, knowing what Alex would ask him next. In the last three weeks he had grown to enjoy her company more than he quite understood, and he already knew the answer to her question before he asked it. He only wished he knew how to prove it to her.

"Are you happy with this, with us, Seto?"

"Yes," he said quietly, their eyes meeting. "Yes, I'm happy."

"Good," she said, smiling brightly. She squeezed his hand once more, then released it as she began the long walk to the front of the library. Seto's gaze followed her for only a moment before he followed after her, the pair coming to a stop just outside the library's front door.

"By the way," Alex said as they spotted Seto's limo approaching, "What are you doing on Thursday?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's kind of stupid but... In America we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of every November. It's supposed to be a day when we give thanks for what we have, but it's really just a commercial excuse for people to eat a whole lot, get out of school and work, and watch a lot of football. But my mom decided to have a Thanksgiving, and Tom decided to invite a few coworkers over to watch satellite streamed football..." She paused for a moment as though rethinking her words, before shrugging off her doubt and smiling up at him. "I thought I'd invite you and Mokuba."

"A thanks... giving...?" he asked, confused slightly by the concept of a holiday surrounding the giving of thanks. It probably didn't help that he had always viewed the American culture as a very thankless one.

"Yeah. It's kinda cheesy. We go around the table, and everyone says one thing that they're thankful for... It's pretty lame, but I thought Mokuba would enjoy the family setting. I think he really enjoys coming over to my place..."

Her words seemed to fade away as the thread of discussion turned. She was referring to one of the many times in the last few weeks that Mokuba had gone to Alex's house in an effort to keep him out of both earshot and harm's way when Gozaburo went into one of his furies. Seto had gotten into the habit of sending Mokuba to Alex whenever their stepfather would become violently drunk, and Alex would watch him for a few hours until Seto would come to get him. More often than not this would involve one or both of the Kaiba brothers dining at the Fides household. Though Seto was usually very reserved at these meals - mostly from shame at the events that had transpired prior to it - Mokuba seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself, basking in the presence of kind parents and a loving home.

"I know he enjoys going to your house," Seto said solemnly, and Alex knew that he wished he was sending Mokuba over on better terms. He sighed heavily, glancing over at the limo as it came to a stop at the curb. Alex frowned, her eyes never leaving his.

"You don't have to come, Seto," she said quietly, and he looked back to her once more. "I just wanted to invite you. But I know it isn't really your thing."

"I'll have to ask permission," he said after another moment of silence, but the suddenly wide smile on Alex's face suggested that she was restraining herself from hugging him.

"Tom already mentioned it to Gozaburo," she said brightly, "and apparently he thought it might be a good idea. Thought that it might show you were interested in cultural diversity, and that it would encourage that 'humble image' that he's trying to build for you. And school's closed on Friday for parent-teacher meetings, so you don't have to worry about staying out late."

"Wonderful," Seto said with a sigh, and Alex knew that if Gozaburo would support it, Seto would automatically be opposed to it.

"Seto, you can't let what he says influence you. He'll give his consent. Why does it matter whether or not he thinks it's a good idea?"

"It doesn't," Seto said quietly, his eyes turning to the limo once more as he echoed her words hollowly. "It doesn't matter what he thinks, so long as I'm happy. Right?"

"Mm-hmm," she agreed with a nod.

"Then we'll be there," he concluded, smiling inconspicuously at her.

"Thursday night," she said with a smile. "Six o'clock."

. . . . .

Obtaining Gozaburo's permission to go to Alex's Thanksgiving dinner had taken more persuasion that either Seto or Alex had anticipated, despite Tom's buildup. Therefore it was no surprise to Alex when Seto showed up at school on Thursday with another well-concealed black eye.

"We'll be there tonight," he had said quietly, avoiding her gaze as she stared at his injured eye.

"Seto-"

"We'll be there," he murmured, silencing her with a sideways look.

And he was right. Their afternoon study session ended around four o'clock, as was the norm, and come six o'clock one of the Kaibas' inconspicuous vehicles had pulled up to the curb of 343 Willow Road. Alex stood at the door as Mokuba flew from the car, running up the sidewalk with a smile on his face that stretched from ear to ear.

"Hi, Alex!" he said, beaming up at her.

"Hey, Mokuba," she answered, ruffling his hair gently. "I bet if you hurry inside mom will let you set the table."

"Really?" Mokuba gasped with the air of a child on Christmas morning. He quickly dashed past Alex into the house through the open door behind her, and she could hear him all the way from the kitchen asking, "Mrs. Fides, can I set the table, please?"

"How are you?" Alex asked as Seto approached her, his walk far less eager than his brother's.

"Fine," he said with a hint of a smile. "_He_ never came home."

"How's your eye?" she asked, unable to ignore the touch of ever so slightly darkened skin upon his face.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Everything's fine."

As they sat down for the dinner, Mokuba's eyes grew wide, and Seto couldn't help but feel that Alex had downplayed the importance of the meal. There was a large turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, and an assortment of other American holiday foods.

"I thought you said there would be more people," Seto murmured as they took their seats.

"There will be," she said quietly. "More people are coming later; that's why there's so much food."

"Seto, Mokuba," Moriah Fides said with a smile as she looked at them both. "You two have never eaten Thanksgiving dinner with us-"

"I don't believe they've ever celebrated Thanksgiving at all, have you boys?" Thomas interjected.

"Nope!" Mokuba answered excitedly, while Seto simply shook his head.

"We have a tradition of going around the table and naming one thing that each of us are thankful for," Moriah explained.

"Mom, do we have to?" Alex asked, with an air that after fifteen years of participating in this ritual it had become dull.

"Of course, Allie, it's tradition!" her mother gasped, as though this suggestion were sacrilege.

"How about I start this year?" Tom suggested with a smile, and Moriah nodded encouragingly as he lifted his glass in toast. "I'm thankful for a good business year."

"I'm thankful for a healthy family, and for Allie's friends that are with us today," Moriah said, smiling at Mokuba and Seto. Sitting across from Seto at the table, Alex could see him quickly becoming uncomfortable.

"I'm thankful," Alex said with the air of trying to lighten the mood, "for Mokuba, who clearly knows which sides of the plate the silverware are supposed to go on."

"Can I go next?" Mokuba asked, glancing from Alex to her mother eagerly.

"Of course you can, dear," Moriah said, nodding.

"I'm thankful for my nii-sama," Mokuba said, his gaze shifting to Seto. Seto's eyes fell to his plate, silent.

"Nii-sama?" Moriah asked, glancing all around the table for some sign of understanding. "What does that mean?"

"It's Japanese," Tom said as he took a drink from his glass, "but I couldn't tell you what it means."

"Brother," Seto murmured quietly, his voice so low that the others had to strain to hear him. "It means older brother."

"Oh, isn't that sweet?" Moriah gasped, her smile softening. Alex, however, felt that she was the only person who had truly understood what the words meant to Seto.

"It's your turn, Seto," she breathed in an undertone, and Seto's eyes met hers for a moment before he looked to Mokuba.

"Thankful..." he said quietly, as though trying to remember what the word meant. "I'm thankful for... the few blessings that I've received in life..."

"_Few_ blessings?" Moriah said, and it was as though the ceremonial air had been lifted from the table. Alex's mother began passing around bowls, while Tom began cutting the turkey. "Dear, you're the heir to a multi-billion dollar corporation, if I'm not mistaken. You're a little more than blessed."

"You can't assume to know everything about him," Tom interjected, as Alex and Seto's eyes met. "Seto here could be less fortunate than we're led to believe."

The meal passed on in relative ease. There was no more talk of what they were thankful for and very little talk about whether or not Seto was fortunate. They discussed the concept of football, which Mokuba had never heard of and Seto knew very little about. They discussed a bit of school, and Tom and Seto exchanged a few words over the activity of the stock market and a large up-and-coming deal between the company that Tom worked for and KaibaCorp.

When the meal was over, Moriah and Tom told Alex, Seto and Mokuba to go into the living room and relax before the football games began. Alex and Seto seemed fine with this, but Mokuba insisted on helping. So when Seto and Alex retired to the living room, they retired alone. Alex collapsed into the couch, and Seto stood rigidly before her.

"You can sit down," she said quietly, indicating the large amount of free space on the couch beside her. Seto hesitated for a moment more before taking a seat at the end of the couch, about a foot away from Alex. She turned on the cushion to tuck her legs beneath her, smiling slightly at the rigid way with which he sat.

"Seto, you really should just relax," she said quietly, placing her hand over his. He glanced down at her touch, then up at her eyes.

"Your parents don't know, do they?" he asked.

"No, my parents don't know."

"Mokuba seems to be enjoying himself."

"Yeah, he likes helping out, doesn't he?" she asked, glancing in the direction of the kitchen.

"He likes feeling like he's part of a normal family," Seto clarified. Their eyes locked once more, and Seto turned slightly to face her.

"You enjoy it, too, don't you?" she asked quietly, gently tracing a circle into his hand with her thumb. "You may not show it like Mokuba, but I think you like the family setting, too."

"Of course I do," Seto said in a low voice. "I remember what it was like, you know, before our parents died. I remember having a real family. You always ask me if I'm happy... I was happy then."

The doorbell rang, and both brunettes quickly glanced to the door. Within minutes several men had filed into the room with Tom at the lead, talking quickly about football teams and what games would be coming on that night. The wives of these men filed through the living room and made a beeline for the kitchen to meet with Moriah. Alex and Seto squeezed together on the couch to make room for the newcomers much to Seto's discomfort, and Mokuba soon came to sit at their feet, leaning against the couch.

The rest of the night was passed in the living room, watching football. The first game was fairly confusing for Mokuba, but Seto picked up the idea pretty fast. He didn't quite understand the appeal, but he understood the basic concept and the rules were not all that hard to understand. By the time the second game had started, Seto had been unable to keep from foretelling the tactical maneuvers of the coaches, and had even begun to murmur to Alex which plays the coaches were about to call and which ones would have been more effective. This almost sixth sense made Alex smile, and Seto couldn't deny that by the third game he was actually enjoying himself.

It was near midnight when the television was finally switched off and people began to head home. As Tom and Moriah bid their last farewells and went back into the living room, they found that Mokuba, Alex and Seto had all fallen asleep. Mokuba had dozed off on the floor half-way through the second game. Alex had lost consciousness during the second quarter of the third game, her head drooping onto Seto's shoulder. Finally, around the fourth quarter of the last game, Seto had lost the battle with sleep as well.

"We should probably wake them," Moriah said reluctantly, smiling at the sight.

"Nah, forget it," Tom said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'll call Seto's stepfather and let him know that they're here."

"D'you think you should be calling this late?"

"I have to call him anyway. From what I understand he's currently hard at work over at KaibaCorp. I've been getting paged from his number for a good half-hour now."

"He's probably wondering where the boys are."

"Wrong," Tom murmured as they left the living room and entered the kitchen, Tom taking the phone in his hand as he punched Gozaburo's number into the receiver. "I'm sure he's more concerned with cross-checking the numbers for that project I was telling you about at dinner."

"Well he must be a _little_ concerned about those two."

"I doubt it," Tom said with a sigh. "He's not exactly a family man."

. . . . .

Alex woke with a start as Seto jumped from the couch, a string of expletives flowing from his lips. Blinking away the sleep in her eyes, she glanced around the room, looking for some sign of what had startled Seto. But all she could see was Seto standing incredibly still, his fists clenched tightly.

"Seto... what's wrong...?" she asked quietly, not wanting to wake up Mokuba, who had curled up on the floor.

"I fell asleep!" he gasped, and she quickly rose to her feet, crossing to him in an effort to make him lower his voice.

"You'll wake Mokuba," she said as she pointed for him to walk through the door that led to the kitchen.

"Good!" Seto growled, though he did as directed. "He needs to wake up! We need to leave _now_."

"Seto, calm down," she breathed as they entered the kitchen, making sure the door was shut tight behind her.

"I can't _calm down_. Gozaburo's going to kill me!" He glanced around feverishly, searching for a clock. "What time is it?"

"It's three-thirty in the morning," Alex said, her eyes widening slightly as she gazed at her wrist watch.

"Dammit!"

"I wonder why they didn't wake us up," Alex thought aloud, her eyes slowly roaming the kitchen. It was then that she saw a hastily scribbled note attached to the refrigerator door by a magnet. She quickly moved to the fridge, taking the note in hand and reading over it. "Seto, it's okay."

"It isn't okay this time, Alex!" Seto growled, shaking his head. "Do you not _realize_ what Gozaburo's going to do to me when I get home?"

"No, it's okay," she insisted, waving the note for him to see. "Tom called Gozaburo."

"What?" he said, the words not making much sense.

"Tom called Gozaburo," she repeated, looking back to the note. "Apparently he told him that you had fallen asleep here... and Gozaburo said to not bother you about coming home tonight. He's working all night at KaibaCorp, and doesn't care whether you're at home or here."

"I don't believe it," Seto said, shaking his head as he took the note from Alex, his eyes darting back and forth over Tom's note. The note read exactly as Alex said: Tom had called Gozaburo, Gozaburo had said he would be working and that it was fine if Seto stayed at the Fides' house for the evening. That Gozaburo would be home the next morning, and he suggested that Seto should be home as well in order to begin work on a new project.

"I still don't believe it," Seto breathed, sinking onto a stool at the breakfast bar. Alex took the note from Seto, shaking her head.

"I don't believe it either," Alex murmured. "I can't believe Tom called him and went through all that trouble..."

The pair fell into silence for a long moment, each thinking their own separate thoughts: Seto thinking about how lucky he was, and Alex thinking about how she would need to thank Tom later. When their eyes finally met, Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"You're blessed, Seto Kaiba," she said with a smile, taking his hand in hers.

"I don't know about being blessed," he said, rubbing his fingers along the back of her hand as he pulled her a bit closer, "but I'm starting to get the feeling that you're my good luck charm."


	19. Just Too Perfect

**A/N: So, here it is, Chapter 19, finally posted. Let me tell you, I thought Chapter 18 was hard to write? Oh, no, this chapter turned out to be the monster under my bed. It's shorter than the last few chapters, a bit choppy, but a good transition into some new plot. (Hopefully plot that you all will enjoy!) On the bright side, this chapter marks the start of Seto's dissent into madness. You'll see what I mean...**

**There will be a far longer Author's Note posted over on my LiveJournal. Please review! On with the show!**

* * *

Though Thanksgiving might have been an American holiday, Christmas was not, and the first day of December brought a host of Christmas trees, decorations, and artifacts to the streets and shop windows of Domino. Wreaths hung from lamp posts, Santas rang charity bells from street corners, and a large and ornately-decorated tree stood at the center of Domino Park. Even the sky seemed to understand that Christmas was near, with gray clouds hanging overhead that threatened snow at any moment.

With December came a flurry of activity at Domino High as well. Students were suddenly coupling up right and left so that they had 'someone to be with for the holidays,' teachers were assigning piles of homework in a last minute frenzy to prepare students for midterms, and, most importantly, a fresh vat of gossip had opened up a few days after Thanksgiving: Gregory Johnson's parents were getting a divorce.

Once the story had leaked, it had spread like wildfire throughout the school. Alex learned of the rumor in third period, when Ni Sei and Ivory Blanken approached her to ask her what she had heard and to clear up any lies on Greg's behalf. From what Alex understood, Ni, Ivory, Akki, May and James had been going around all day, trying to squash the rumors about their friend. It was for lack of any better conversation that Alex brought this up to Seto.

"So did you hear about Greg Johnson?" she asked casually as they sat in their secluded area of the library. Seto glanced up at her from the plastic doll and his attempts at feeding it.

"About his parents?"

"Yeah. Ivory Blanken told me they were getting a divorce because Mr. Johnson cheated on his wife with his secretary."

Seto snorted, his eyes falling back to the baby.

"What?" Alex asked when he did not respond.

"It's nothing," he said with a shrug, though the way his eyes were turned down told Alex that Seto was using the word 'nothing' loosely again.

"C'mon, Seto, what is it?" she asked, scooting a bit closer so that their shoulders touched. He glanced sideways at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Do you know anything about Mr. Johnson?"

"He's a lawyer, right?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, he's Gozaburo's legal advisor at Kaiba Corporation. He's supposed to be one of the best attorneys that money can buy. He's also one of the most influential shareholders within the company."

"Wow... So you know him, then?"

"Yes. And I don't know whether or not Johnson was cheating with his secretary," Seto said, his voice low, "but he was certainly no stranger to Gozaburo's night parties."

"What?" Alex gasped, her eyes widening slightly.

"Johnson is a man of simple tastes. He doesn't like ropes or knives, and he doesn't like to use a bed either. He likes brute force, and he either wants to do it on the floor or over a desk."

"Seto, I didn't think-"

"You wouldn't think to look at him," Seto said quietly, "but I could tell you stories about even the most honest looking men that would make you do a double take. Businessmen lead double lives: the lives they show at home and in public, and the lives they show in a conference room when they're staring down a company merger. You see the first part, and I see the latter - either in a boardroom or in my bedroom."

"Not all businessmen are like that."

"You don't think so?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as his gaze met hers.

"Well, Tom isn't," she murmured as her hand slipped gently over his, "and you're not."

"That's because you've seen all of me," he explained, his eyes falling to her hand as their fingers entwined. "You've seen the parts of me most people never will... And as for Tom, he may not be as villainous as Johnson, but in a business meeting he certainly isn't the nicest man."

"What do you mean?"

"He's just not the same person you know. He can be manipulative and cunning, and frankly he can be ruthless. That's why he and Gozaburo get along so well. They're of the same make."

The pair fell into silence, and when Seto's eyes lifted to Alex's once more he knew what she was thinking. His brow furrowed as he turned to face her completely, leaning towards her a fraction of an inch.

"You can ask me if you'd like," He murmured softly, already knowing what thoughts his words had inspired. Her gaze met his and, after a moment, she understood: he wouldn't talk about Tom unless she explicitly asked.

"Has Tom ever...?" she began, but was unable to finish her sentence. Her eyes fell and she swallowed before looking up at him once more. "Has he ever come to one of Gozaburo's parties?"

"No."

"Are you lying to me?" she asked softly, "To protect me or something?"

"No. I wouldn't lie to you. Not about something like this."

She nodded slowly, knowing by the look in his eyes that he was telling the truth. Still, the way he had compared Tom and Gozaburo made her frown. Seto could see this, and he immediately regretted his words.

"When I said they were of the same make," Seto clarified, "I meant they have the same type of personality. He's determined; if he sees something he wants, he gets it. That doesn't make him a bad person."

"I know," she said, smiling sheepishly and averting her eyes. "It was stupid... I just..."

"It isn't stupid. You have a right to ask, to want to know. But I've never seen him at as much as a cocktail party at the Kaiba Mansion. He's only been there once, and that was with you." He paused for a moment, concerned by the frown that plagued her lips. "And I would tell you if things were any different."

Alex nodded slowly and smiled reluctantly. She looked down at their linked hands, gently rubbing her thumb along his index finger. All the while he watched her face for even the slightest changes in expression. But it seemed the thoughts of such seemingly benign men being such villainous people would not leave her mind.

"Let's quit early today," Seto murmured, rising to his feet and pulling Alex along with him. She stared at him blankly, his words driving all other thoughts from her mind.

"What?"

"Let's just forget the project for today. We can go for a walk or something. I don't care. I just don't want to do homework."

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, lifting her hand to his forehead as though to check his temperature. He smiled slightly, leaning his head into her palm to make the reach less difficult for her.

"I'm fine."

"Well then, who are you and what have you done with Seto Kaiba?"

"Oh, c'mon," he said, rolling his eyes as he stooped to grab his backpack and handed Alex's bag to her. "I'm honestly just tired of working. Is that a crime?"

"For you it is," she murmured as she put the plastic baby in her bag. "But I'm not opposed to a break."

The pair wound their way through the bookcases, releasing each other's hands only when they came to the library's main flow of traffic. They had almost reached the exit when Seto was knocked sideways, someone having run directly into his arm. His cold eyes turned to see who had dared bump into him, only to find Greg Johnson glaring at him.

"Why don't you watch where you're walking, Kaiba," he growled, his eyes narrowing. Seto opened his mouth, a snide comeback on the tip of his tongue, but Alex was quick to cut him off.

"Alright, Greg?" she asked tenderly, noticing that he was not alone, but Ivory and James were with him.

"Not too good, actually."

"We heard about your parents," she said, quickly trying to turn the tone of the conversation. "We're really sorry."

"I'm sure you are," Greg said sarcastically, glaring at Seto who was looking at Alex in a way that suggested she should speak for herself.

"No, seriously. My parents got divorced when I was a kid, and I hated it. I know what it's like."

"Oh really?" Greg asked, his eyes never wavering from Seto. "And was it 'cause your mom found out your dad was cheating with the company _slut_?"

A heavy silence fell over the group. It was clear that James and Ivory still thought he was talking about his father's secretary, but the way that he glared at Seto suggested that he knew much more than they. Seto stiffened, his fists clenching and - hidden from view - Alex's hand had wrapped around the back of his arm.

"You know my dad was sleeping around?" Greg said over his shoulder to James and Ivory. "Well, he managed to find the _one person_ at KaibaCorp who would lay down for _anyone_."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Seto said through gritted teeth, never allowing his indifferent mask to slip away.

"The hell I don't," Greg sneered, his smile never fading. "Good old dad ended up trading his overtime pay for some tricks from the local whore. Isn't that right, Kaiba?"

Alex's grip around Seto's arm tightened, and it seemed to be the only thing keeping him under control.

"C'mon, Greg, let's just go," Ivory pleaded, tugging at Greg's arm.

"Yeah, man, just forget it," James affirmed, already turning away. Alex nudged Seto gently, nodding towards the door. From the look in his eyes he seemed to want to get out of the library now more than ever but didn't appear to be capable of moving on his own. As Alex gently tugged him along, however, she was stopped when she felt Greg's hand catch her arm.

"Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to look him in the eye.

"You're alright," he said, his voice slightly lowered so that only Alex and Seto could hear him, the bitterness still thick. "I don't have any grudge against you. So don't take it the wrong way when I tell you to watch what you do with him. You might catch something, if you know what I mean."

"Nothing your father wouldn't have caught from me," Seto spat, knocking Greg's hand away from Alex as he tried to shepherd her away from him.

"You son of a bitch!" Greg growled, lunging forward at Seto. James quickly had him by the arms, though, as if he had foreseen this. He pulled Greg away, shoving him along as he spoke to him in a hushed tone. Ivory glanced around at a few people who had stopped to stare, then smiled sheepishly at Alex and Seto.

"Sorry, guys," she said sadly. "Greg isn't really okay right now. You know, with his parents and all."

"It's fine, Ivory," Alex said with a sympathetic smile. "We understand. We really are sorry for him."

"I know." Ivory glanced over her shoulder to see Greg and James arguing quietly several bookcases along. She gave the pair of brunettes another fleeting smile before dashing off to meet them. Once gone, Alex and Seto made a speedy exit.

Seto walked briskly, saying nothing, and Alex followed his lead. At first she wasn't quite sure where they were headed, but soon Seto had turned down an alley between the library and a coffee shop. When Alex had caught up with him she found him slumped against the alley wall, his eyes somewhat wide as he stared at the ground.

"Seto?" she asked softly, placing a gentle hand on his arm. He jumped at her touch as though he hadn't even realized she was there.

"He knows," Seto murmured, shaking his head. "Dammit, he _knows_."

"But he doesn't know the truth," she reassured him calmly.

"The truth would be better than what _he_'s going to tell everyone!" Seto snapped, a fire igniting in his eyes. "The truth is that I get fucked by strange men and there's nothing I can do about it! No, _he_'s going to tell everyone that I've been _asking_ for this! That I enjoy it! That I _let_ it happen!"

"You don't know that he's going to tell. And even if he does, no one will believe him."

"And why won't they? Because everyone's so nice to me and thinks I'm such a great guy?" Seto's voice dripped with sarcasm as he glared at Alex. He was losing his temper again, losing control of himself. "No, they'll believe it. They'll take every word of it and gobble it up like some sort of starved animal. I'm part of the social elite, remember? I'm _untouchable._ I'm an unfeeling, uncaring Ice Prince. And wouldn't it be just fitting that Seto Kaiba was slutting around with all of the seedy businessmen? Wouldn't it just make sense that he was trading a good fuck for a few shares of stock?"

"Seto, _stop_."

"NO! No, because it's true, isn't it? You say I haven't done anything, but I've done_ plenty_. I've given more blow jobs than I can count, I've bent over for men like Johnson more times than I'll ever know, and I've let Gozaburo ruin my life. And for what? For a lousy company? For financial security? I've sold every last shred of dignity and pride that I have so that one day - if Gozaburo or some sick bastard like him doesn't kill me first - I'll be a CEO!

"And you think there's nothing wrong with me?" he snarled, a crazed, fiery look in his eyes. "You're always telling me that I haven't done anything wrong, that I'm _not_ this walking collection of sin and filth? Well then what the _hell_ am I?"

"Seto-"

"I know what I am. I'm a gross, perverted toy. I'm a blow up doll." He pressed his palms over his eyes as he fell against the alley wall once more, the energy drained from him. His voice was low now and hoarse from his shouting. "I'm a sick, used up, worn out blow up doll. And soon everyone will know it."

For a moment Alex said nothing, remaining motionless before him. She didn't know what to say, what to do. She didn't know how to pull him out of this self-loathing state that he constantly drove himself into. She didn't know how to take away his pain or make him feel better. He was so broken, and she had no idea how to fix him.

But slowly she drew close to him, taking his wrists in an attempt to remove his hands from his eyes. He struggled with her, shaking his head, his eyes closed tightly.

"Don't," he mumbled, trying to resist her pull. "Please, don't..."

She shook her head, winding her arms around his waist and burying herself in his chest. She wanted to be close to him, wanted him close to her. She wanted him to wake up from this hopeless state and remember that he wasn't alone. That she wouldn't leave him. At first he was stiff, unwilling to submit to whatever emotion she was trying to bring about in him. But after a moment or so he could not resist her, could not keep from tightening this hold on her, from wrapping himself around her and becoming as close to her as physically possible.

"I can't help it," he breathed in her ear. "One moment you bring out whatever... whatever human part of me is left, whatever part of me still feels anger and resentment and pain... And the next I'm so ashamed of myself that I... I can hardly stand to be near you..."

Alex said nothing, but simply lifted her chin and tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

"How can you possibly be happy...?" he asked her, his brow furrowing. "Despite everything that's wrong with me, how can you be happy?"

"There's nothing wrong with you," she murmured, her lips brushing against his skin as she spoke. "The people who hurt you, who take advantage of you, there's something wrong with _them_. But you? There is _nothing_ wrong with you."

. . . . .

"Greg, c'mon!" James yelled as he chased his friend out the library door. He had managed to keep his friend from beating Kaiba down in the library, but he didn't know how lucky he would be outside of a public place. Greg paused when faced with the decision of whether to turn left or right, but quickly turned left and ran on.

"Can you just stop for a minute?" James growled, finally catching up with Greg and grabbing his arm. "What's your deal anyway?"

"It's Kaiba!" he snapped, rounding on his friend.

"What about him?"

"It's _his_ fault my parents are splitting up."

"How the hell did you put that together?"

"It's complicated," Greg snarled, tearing his arm from James' grasp. "And it isn't important why he's involved; all that's important is that he _is_ involved. And I wanna make him pay."

"You sound crazy, man."

"I don't give a shit how I sound," he said as he turned away from James. "So long as Kaiba gets what's coming to him, nothing else matters."

He began walking down the sidewalk once more, looking around for any sign of Alex or Seto. But just before he came to the Classics Coffee Shoppe, he heard a sound from down the alleyway. He shifted back to the library, peering around the corner and into the alley, a smile pulling across his face.

"This is just too perfect," Greg murmured to himself as James came up behind him, peering around the wall as well.

"What-? Oh..." James fell silent, taking a step back from the alley but Greg refused to move. Seto and Alex were in the alley, and they were standing far too close to each other to be considered 'just talking.' Though James wasn't exactly surprised, he also felt like he and Greg were imposing on something. "Greg, c'mon, leave them alone."

"I'm not going to do anything," Greg said with a wicked smile, turning to face James. "Did you know they were together?"

"No," James sighed. "Who cares?"

"I didn't know either. I don't think anyone knew. In fact... I don't think he _wants_ anyone to know."

"What're you gonna do now?" James asked, almost dreading the answer. He didn't like the way Greg was talking, and didn't like the way this appeared to be turning.

"Simple," Greg said, turning to look down the alley once more. "I'm going to make Seto Kaiba's life a living hell."

. . . . .

Seto stood in silence by his stepfather's desk, his eyes lowered to the floor. Behind the desk sat Gozaburo, and before it sat Johnson. Both men seemed relatively calm, and though Johnson seemed somewhat uneasy he could not hold a candle to the fear in Seto's eyes. Seto could feel his skin crawling, the knot in his stomach tightening to form an unbearable pain. He wished more than anything that he was back at the library, or doing homework with Alex in her room. Anything would have been better than awaiting his fate.

"Johnson, you've been an employee at Kaiba Corporation for a long time. You're one of our most prized shareholders, and you are an invaluable member of our legal team." Gozaburo paused, drumming his fingers along his desk for a moment. "It is for these reasons alone that I have made your social blunder disappear. KaibaCorp receives enough bad press from its business deals; we don't need our employees to add to that mix."

Johnson said nothing, but bowed his head in a symbol of respectful thanks.

"Your wife... is a very sensible woman. She understands reason, and has been paid handsomely to let this pass with no more than a divorce. As for the press, I allowed her the satisfaction of telling them that you cheated on her with your secretary. Unless you've let your secret slip to anyone else, then we can put this business behind us."

"There's a chance that the rumors may still get out," Johnson said, somewhat less smug that usual.

"Even if the stories reach the media there is no proof. A story of this caliber _needs_ proof to reach any major news outlets. I'm anticipating a few leaks to tabloids, but nothing more. And any printed articles will immediately be retracted, or else the magazine in question will face a lawsuit faster than they can hire a defense attorney."

"And can _he_ keep his mouth shut?" Johnson asked, gesturing towards Seto. For the first time Seto looked up, his gaze flitting from Gozaburo to Johnson.

"Seto will do as he is told."

As Johnson's eyes turned to Seto, the brunette's gaze fell to the floor. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he found himself thinking how much he longed for Alex to be present so that he might reach out and grab her hand.

"I get the distinct impression that you would like to blame all of this on Seto," Gozaburo said evenly, "when in reality this is very much your fault."

"Why would I blame him?" Johnson asked aloofly.

"Perhaps you would prefer to push your faults off on the boy that allows you to have them."

"That's ridiculous."

"I'm glad that you feel this way. After all, it was _your_ fault that your wife found your tapes."

"Tapes?" Seto asked, though his voice was no more than a whisper. No one looked at him, but Johnson shifted somewhat uncomfortably in his seat under Gozaburo's hardened gaze.

"Yes, tapes," Gozaburo affirmed. "Johnson thought, for whatever reasons, that it would be prudent to videotape his transactions with you."

Gozaburo paused, brushing the top of his desk with his hand as though to clean it. His eyes narrowed on Johnson, his fist curling atop the desk.

"These tapes have, of course, been destroyed. Correct?"

"Of course," Johnson answered steadily.

"You recorded us?" Seto asked, so terrified by what he was hearing that he forgot his place. _There were tapes. He had never thought there would be tapes._

"Seto," Gozaburo murmured, "be quiet."

"You _recorded_ us?" Seto repeated, his voice rising slightly. At the sound of Seto's voice, Gozaburo's frown deepened.

"Go to your room," the man said in a low, dangerous voice. Seto did not speak, but also did not move, unable to tear his gaze from Johnson. "Seto, go to your room to wait for Mr. Johnson."

After a moment more of silence, Seto bowed his head and turned to leave. He slowly exited the study, taking the staircase up to his room. All the while he couldn't help but think of how many times Johnson had stolen into his bedroom in the dead of the night, and how many tapes he might have had.

He didn't have to wait long for Johnson to come for him, but it was long enough to torture him. When the businessman had finally slipped into his room, Seto sat straight-backed on the edge of his bed, his eyes closed tightly.

He didn't want to do this.

. . . . .

Gozaburo had told Johnson that he could have Seto all night, and so it was about three or so in the morning when the man finally left the Kaiba mansion. After he had left, Gozaburo entered Seto's room to find his stepson lying against the wall, a haunted look in his eyes.

"How are you feeling, Seto?" Gozaburo asked, folding his arms as he stood in the doorway. There was a slight slur to his words, as though he had been drinking to the thought of Seto's torture.

Seto said nothing.

"You knew that this was coming, didn't you?" Seto's stepfather asked, a dark smile on his lips. "You knew that Johnson would take his anger out on you at the first opportunity."

Again, Seto said nothing.

"How does Alex feel about all of this?"

Something seemed to stir within Seto, his gaze slowly shifting to his caregiver.

"Does she know?" Gozaburo asked, walking to the table of assorted knives and torture objects that stood beside Seto's dresser. He lifted a thin, well sharpened blade, examining it. "Does she know what kind of filth you are?"

Seto remained silent.

"Does she know what kind of whore you really are?" he chuckled darkly. He turned to his stepson, crossing the room to kneel down beside him. He reached out, taking Seto's hand in his, laughing as Seto flinched and turned his head away.

"I'm not going to hit you, Seto," Gozaburo said with a smile. He examined Seto's arm for whatever bruises Johnson might have left, then rubbed his fingers against a large, unmarked patch of skin. "You _have_ told her, haven't you? About how many men have had you? About where all your mouth has been?"

Seto's eyes closed tightly against Gozaburo's words. He didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to be here.

But suddenly he wasn't wincing against the sound of Gozaburo's voice. He was wincing against a pain in his forearm. Eyes flashing open, he turned his gaze down to the arm Gozaburo held just in time to see the blade make its last cut.

"Well, she has a right to know," Gozaburo said, still smiling cruelly. "Perhaps this will help you to tell her."

Gozaburo rose to his feet, cleaning the blood from the blade with the sheets off Seto's bed before returning it to the table. He then crossed to the door, stopping only to sneer two final words at his stepson: "Pleasant dreams."

The door snapped shut, but Seto did not move. He simply stared down at the cuts that Gozaburo had carved into his skin, watching as small droplets of blood bubbled up from the wounds. After what seemed like hours, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, unable to stand of the sight of the word cut into his flesh:

_SLUT._


	20. KaibaCorp Heir Trades More Than Stocks

**Author's Note: I know it's been forever, and I apologize. This chapter has been the most stubborn of all, simply because I couldn't decide in which chapter and in what order certain events should fall. Because I've taken such a long time to write this chapter, I tried to make it especially long for you, and you'll find that this is a fair bit longer than the usual chapter. With any luck you will see Chapter 21 next Wednesday (rest assured that I've worked most of the kinks out of the plot and have a pretty good idea of where I'm headed now). And now-I've been wanting to say these words for FOREVER-I give you Chapter 20! Enjoy!**

* * *

Speeding around her room to collect her textbooks, Alex hardly noticed the phone ringing. What was more, she never would have thought the call would be for her. The ringing stopped on its second ring, and so she simply assumed her mother had answered it and never gave it a second thought. She double checked her backpack one more time to make sure she had everything,

The brunette went downstairs, tossing her backpack down by the door on her way into the kitchen. She figured if she hurried, she could sit down long enough to have a glass of orange juice before leaving for school and still be early enough to meet Seto at their lockers. As she crossed to the kitchen, she saw her mother standing by the sink, a bitter look on her face as she held the phone to her ear.

"Alright," Moriah said, eyes following her daughter to the fridge. "Alright, I'll ask her. But really, Sam, I don't think it's a good time, and she isn't going to want to hear about-"

"Is that dad?" Alex asked quickly, snatching a jug of orange juice from the fridge.

"Yes," her mother said with a sigh, handing her the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

"Hey, dad!" Alex said with a smile, fishing a glass out of a cupboard before she poured her juice. "What's up?"

"It was Kaiba, wasn't it?" Samuel Win's voice said in a rush.

"What're you talking about?" the brunette asked, her brow furrowing. Her father's voice was nervous, irritated, almost panicked. She didn't like it, and she certainly didn't understand.

"The kid you told me about." He paused for a moment, then pushed on. "The friend that you called me about back in September. It was the Kaiba kid, wasn't it?"

"Uh..."

"Alex, answer me!"

"What difference does it make who it was?" she said quickly, pouring her juice and then replacing it inside the fridge. Her mother was looking at her with raised eyebrows, so she took her drink and left the room, leaning against the banister at the foot of the stairs in the entryway.

"You don't know yet, do you?" Sam said with a heavy sigh, and Alex could see him running his hand through his thinning brown hair in her mind's eye. "Al, the dam broke last night."

"Whaddyou mean?"

"A couple of tabloids must not have gotten the memo, because a story came out that wasn't supposed to come out."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Alex asked, still thoroughly confused. "What does any of this have to do with me or Seto?"

"Some rag magazine published the headline, 'KaibaCorp Heir Trades More Than Stocks.'"

"What?"

"Another tabloid or two got hold of the story, and then it spread like wildfire. Now we're talking ten or twelve different magazines coming out with it this morning. That's ten or twelve different articles, Al, about how Seto Kaiba has been conducting illegal business deals with the businessmen over at KaibaCorp, trading some less than moral favors for stocks, company shares, and contracts. And I'd bet that you already knew all about this, and that you found out the night that you called me."

"Dad, I didn't know..." the brunette murmured, her mind racing, grasping for answers to his questions that were sure to come. But through her mental struggle came the single most important thought that she couldn't ignore: she needed to see Seto, and she needed to see him fast. It went without saying that he wouldn't be taking this well...

"It doesn't matter whether you did or didn't know. We need to talk about this."

"Dad, I can't talk right now." Alex said quickly, her eyes lifting to see her mother approaching her from the kitchen doorway. "I'm gonna be late for school."

"Al, listen to me-"

"_Really_, dad, I gotta go! I'll call you later, okay?"

"Alex-!"

"Love you!" she said, passing the phone off to her mother before turning quickly on her heel. "I gotta go! I'll see you after school, mom!"

And with that she grabbed her bag and was out the door.

"You still there, Sam?" Moriah sighed, lifting the phone to her ear.

"Yeah, I'm here," he grumbled, clearly dissatisfied with the way the conversation had gone.

"I told you she wasn't going to want to hear it. She won't listen to a bad word about that Kaiba boy. I don't know why you couldn't wait and tell her all of that after school. You didn't _have_ to ruin her morning like that."

"She was going to hear about it at school," Sam sighed. "Better she hear it from me than hear it from some low down punk looking to start a fight with one of them. Besides, I didn't get to tell her everything I needed to tell her."

"You told her about the articles, right?"

"Yeah..."

"What else was there, then?"

"It isn't important."

"Sam-"

"Moriah, really, it wasn't a big deal. Listen, I gotta go. I gotta get some sleep."

"_Sam_-!"

"Bye."

The line disconnected, and Moriah was left listening to a dial tone. She sighed, shaking her head.

"I swear, those two... Like father, like daughter..." she muttered to herself, walking into the kitchen as she heaved another heavy sigh.

. . . . .

Alex reached her locker, opening it quickly to get the books she would need for the first part of the day. She hadn't seen Seto anywhere, and now that she knew he wasn't at his locker, she assumed she would look for him in Whalish's room. He was, after all, a stickler for being early.

"Hey, Alex!" Ivory Blanken called, waving as she ran to meet Alex. Following closely behind her were May and Akki, both smiling rather smugly. Alex frowned, shutting her locker swiftly. She didn't have time for this.

"Hey guys," she murmured, forcing a smile. "Have any of you seen Seto? I've been looking for him all over the place."

"Nope," Ivory said, shaking her head. "Nobody's seen him all morning."

"Yeah, but it isn't for lack of trying," May snorted, and Akki laughed.

"So everyone's heard, huh?"

"Oh, definitely," Akki said with a smile. "Especially after that stuff about Greg's dad cheating with his secretary? People are really starting to talk. They think it might not have been Mr. Johnson's _secretary_ that he was sleeping with."

"Guys, cut it out," Ivory said as May giggled. "We just wanted to say that we're really sorry, Alex."

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry about Kaiba and everything. I mean, it must be tough to find out that your boyfriend isn't just cheating on you, but he was sleeping around with other guys, too." Ivory shook her head sadly. "And you find out through the tabloids? I can't imagine what I'd do if I were you..."

"Seto isn't my boyfriend," Alex said quickly, the words coming like a reflex. Seto had drilled it into her head so many times not to tell and now she couldn't quite help herself, despite the fact that denying the tabloid articles was far more important than worrying over whether or not people knew they were dating...

"Oh, c'mon, Alex," Akki said rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, we're not idiots," May said with a patronizing look. "You're, like, the only person who Kaiba can stand to be around for more than five seconds and you spend every afternoon together in the library."

"We're HomeEc partners," she protested. "He doesn't exactly have a choice."

"And Greg and James saw you two last Monday outside the library. Greg said you were a little bit too cozy to be 'just friends.'" The corners of May's lips turned up into a sneer. "Was that part of your project, too?"

Alex fell silent, her eyes dropping slightly. She didn't know what to say, didn't know what she could say that would make this go away. She simply shook her head, meeting their gazes once more, trying to get her priorities straight.

"You know, when all that shit came out about Greg's dad, we didn't say anything about him. We didn't spread any rumors about him, didn't even talk him down behind his back. And now that the tabloids are saying all this stupid stuff about Seto, you guys just can't wait to talk bad about him."

"Alex, it isn't like that!" Ivory said quickly. "We just wanted to tell you that we were sorry for what had happened!"

"If you really cared, you wouldn't believe a word of this trash! None of it's true. It's ridiculous!"

"You're just standing up for him because of how this makes you look," Akki snapped. "I bet in a week's time you'll break up with him 'cause you won't be able to stand to be around him."

"That's what you think?" Alex asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, it is. It's sick. He lets a bunch of old guys..." Akki's voice died as she shuddered. "_Yuck_... And then you go ahead and sleep with him anyway? It's just gross."

"You don't know the first thing about us," Alex growled. "So what makes you think that I'm slutting around with Seto the way you do with James Garter?"

"You _are_ one stuck up bitch, aren't you?" Akki hissed. "Just because you're with Kaiba..."

"Seto's got _nothing_ to do with why I think I'm better than you."

"Guys, c'mon!" Ivory begged. "Let's not get into a fight, okay?"

"Yeah," May said, placing a hand on Akki's arm. "Don't waste your breath. Kaiba's got his coming."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Alex said, looking from Akki to May.

"Don't you worry about it," May said with a smirk. "You'll know soon enough."

Akki and May turned to leave, with Ivory left behind to stare sadly at Alex. She stuttered an apology on May and Akki's behalf before chasing after them, a frown on her face. Alex turned back to her locker, heaving a deep sigh.

"What a freaking bi-"

"Morning," came a soft, strained voice from behind her.

"Hey!" she gasped, turning quickly to find Seto at her side. "How are you?"

"I've been worse," he mumbled, opening his locker. However, his eyes were downcast in a way that suggested he had also been better.

"So, you've... you've heard...?" she asked quietly, and Seto froze, one hand on his locker door, the other on his backpack strap. His head fell a bit more, then nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I've heard."

"It's going to be okay, Seto," she murmured softly, placing her hand over his.

"What part of this could possibly turn out okay?" he gasped, though a look of hopelessness in his eyes seemed to quell any anger he might have been feeling.

"This is going to sound impossible," she said quietly, "but if you act like these stories don't bother you any, the rumors will die away and everyone will forget about it in a week or two!"

"You can't honestly expect for this entire thing to just blow over..."

"If you don't let them see that it bothers you, they'll think there's no truth in it." She gave him a small, reassuring smile. "I've been in public school longer than you have. I know these things."

Her words seemed to do little to ease Seto's mind, but his gaze turned to her hand on his and he sighed lightly.

"Since we're on the subject of bad news..." she murmured as he began to load his backpack up with books. He glanced sideways at her, an exhausted look overshadowing his face. "There's something else you should know."

"What now?"

"It's just... something that May and Akki said before you showed up. Last Monday... that day the rumors got out about Greg's dad...? Apparently... Greg and James saw us in the alley after we left the library. And Greg told May and Akki that we're together."

"_What?_" Seto asked, turning toward Alex once more. She shook her head, squeezing his hand gently.

"It isn't a big deal," she assured him. "Honestly, they thought less of me for it than they did of you..."

"How many people know?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "They didn't tell me. For all I know, Greg only told May and Akki."

"Well, this is just great," Seto seethed, turning his gaze back to his locker. The anger in his eyes began to smolder, and Alex bit her lip. "Everything's just falling apart at the seams, isn't it?"

"Seto..."

"Tonight Gozaburo will be having one of his parties," the brunette growled through clenched teeth, pulling one book from his bag and throwing it back into his locker angrily. "And I'm sure we'll all just laugh and laugh about these tabloid articles and what a _slut_ I am."

"Seto, stop..."

"And then Johnson will mention Seto's new girlfriend and they'll all 'Ooh' and mock me, and then one by one they'll come up to my room," his words were like fire as he fumbled with his bag's zipper, yanking it violently when he finally had hold of it. "Then they'll beat the shit out of me, and then fuck me until my back's nearly broken."

"_Please_..." Alex whispered, trying to calm him before he drew attention to himself.

"And all the while my brother will be curled up in his bed," he growled, his teeth grinding together, "trying to cover his ears with his pillow and pretend he can't hear-"

"Seto!"

"WHAT?" he snapped, rounding on her as he slammed the locker door shut. Hot tears had rushed to his eyes as his blood boiled with anger. He felt separated from himself, as though his anger had literally split his rage-filled soul and useless shell of a body apart. He barely felt Alex's hand wrap around his, and had no real control over his body as she led him across the hall to an empty classroom. Silently she pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them after a quick peek into the hall to make sure no one had noticed them. When she turned back to face him, she found his fists clenched and his eyes shut tightly, his teeth ground together and his arms literally shaking with rage.

"Seto?" she breathed, attempting to take his hand in hers once more.

"The _business executives_, the _lawyers_, the _shareholders_... They'll never go away. I'll be a laughing stock. No one in the business community will take me seriously. Even after Gozaburo is dead, they'll all know what I've done and they'll want more." He was rambling now, unable to stop himself as his tainted lips spilled hollow words. "No self-respecting company will do business with me, and the ones that will will be the ones that trade a few shares of stock for a decent lay. And there will be nothing I can do about it..."

"You're wrong," Alex said quietly, and his surprise at her words was so great that his eyes lifted to meet hers. "Don't do this to yourself. _Please._"

Seto finally fell silent, though not because she had asked him to. It was clear that the anger had possessed him to the degree that he could not move let alone speak.

"I understand," she breathed softly, taking advantage of the silence. "I get it. I know you're upset, and I know that you're angry, and that you want to yell and scream and that's fine. And I want you to. More than anything, I want you to just let it all out, but... but not here and not now. It'll only make things worse... a hundred times worse..."

Seto was silent now, his wide, blank eyes falling to his feet. He could hear her words, but just barely, as though they echoed through a tunnel. When they finally reached him and connected in his mind to make sense, his gaze lifted ever so slightly from his shoes to hers.

"It's all falling apart," he whispered in a voice hoarse from anger and restraint, his forehead coming to rest against hers as though out of weakness. "And I can't do anything about it."

"It'll be okay," she assured him quietly, though it seemed that she was trying to convince herself as well as him. When he didn't respond, she tentatively took his arm in her hands, brushing her fingers along the inside of his forearm where, a week before, Gozaburo had cut what he thought of his stepson into the boy's flesh.

"This means _nothing_," she said softly, gazing up at him. "Seto, what they think of you means _nothing_. Because they're all wrong. I've _seen_ what you do for your brother, and I've _seen_ how much you hurt. They'll never understand it, but they don't have to. It isn't about that! Remember? It's about the day that you _fight_ for what you've been through. And it's about the day after, when you know it's been worth it."

It was a lie. She knew that nothing he could ever have or control would be worth the torture that Gozaburo put him through. Nothing could be worth having the word '_SLUT_' carved into his arm, or enduring so much pain that he would pass out and wake up not knowing how many people had had at him since he'd blacked out. Nothing could be worth worrying whether or not his brother had seen a businessman make a blatant pass at him, or wondering whether or not Mokuba had heard him cry out the night before. But she knew that he had convinced himself that having control of KaibaCorp-that taking away the one thing that Gozaburo had some sick sense of love for-was worth all the waiting and abuse that the world had to offer. And so that reminder was the only thing she had to offer to comfort him.

And once again it seemed to do the trick.

"Fine," he murmured, all emotion having fled from his voice. Any anger he might have been feeling had once again been bottled up and suppressed deep down inside of him beneath his dead mask. His eyes fell to their entwined fingers before he removed his hand from hers. He then walked around her and exited the classroom, standing tall as his vacant gaze led him.

. . . . .

Seto was on edge throughout first period, and Alex was fully aware that she could do nothing to help him. He was waging a war within himself, fighting with his anger, and she could do nothing to take that anger away. Watching him leave anxiously at the end of class, she resolved to find him at lunch and try to get him to relax. She knew whatever efforts she made would be futile, but she couldn't bear to think of Seto off by himself all through lunch, wallowing in his fury.

But after third period Seto seemed to disappear completely, and she didn't see him again until Algebra. She tried again to catch him during the passing period between Algebra and Study Hall but lost him in the crowd of students bustling through the hall. By the time she had arrived at the school library for study hall, Seto was nowhere to be found.

After class she waited for him at their lockers, avoiding the gazes of students that passed her on their way out the door. She had noticed the gradual increase of whispers and stares that had followed her throughout the day, and she assumed that the rumor that she and Seto were together had begun to spread. In all honesty, she had expected their secret to escape long before and was surprised that they had kept their relationship under wraps for so long. At the same time, she expected that Seto's tabloid fame would only spur on any and all stories that might have been floating around. As she waited, she wondered how Seto might have been taking the increase in attention...

"No one's given you any grief today, have they?" asked a cold voice over Alex's shoulder, making her jump. Seto had come from behind her, a way he didn't usually travel, and walked around her to his locker as she tried to calm her racing heart.

"You scared me!" she gasped. There seemed to be a glint of laughter in his eyes as he dialed in the combination of his lock, but he was still too bogged down in his anger to manage a smile.

"Has anyone been giving you any problems?" he repeated, and she shook her head.

"No. Why?"

"Just curious," he murmured, removing his chemistry book from his bag and replacing it with his history book.

"Has anyone been bothering _you_?" she asked, drawing a bit closer as she dropped her voice. He glanced sideways at her before shaking his head.

"No, of course not."

"You're lying."

"Maybe." His eyes scanned the hall for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just go, okay?"

"Alright," Alex sighed, "but I'll figure out what's bothering you."

"What _isn't_ bothering me today?" he asked in an exasperated breath, and despite the seriousness of the matter Seto's distant attempt at humor still made her smile.

The walk to the library passed mostly in silence, with the rare mention of something a teacher might have said about an assignment. Their hour there was spent equally detached, reviewing a list of grocery items supplied by Whalish which they were supposed to sift through, picking the things they could afford on their assigned incomes that would support them for the week.

"So why did you want to know whether or not people had been bothering me today?" Alex asked when they had finished writing up their grocery list and had begun packing up their things to leave.

"It really isn't important..." Seto mumbled, knowing she wasn't going to let this go. "But if you must know, it seems some of our classmates are proving me right."

"What d'you mean?"

"They're eating this tabloid trash up," he sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as though attempting to suppress a headache. "At least two people have coughed the word 'fag' as I walked by today. And that's only what I've heard to my face..."

"What?"

"You sound surprised..."

"Who said that?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

"What does it matter?" he asked, slightly annoyed. "I knew this would happen. I tried to avoid it. But some asinine lawyer with a video camera, a spurned wife, and a spoiled rotten son had to let everything out in the open."

"You can't let them-"

"What? I can't let them what? Talk to me like that? Well, what am I supposed to do? Tell them to be nice? I'm sure that'll end well. I could tell a teacher or the principal, but that'd only make it worse. I could try and fight them–teach them a lesson–but I'd get it back ten times over, and that'd be before Gozaburo even got his hands on me for punishment." Seto shook his head, feeling his anger rise within him once more. "I _told_ you: my control over any of this fell apart the moment that this got out. Now I'm cornered. I can't fix it."

Alex stared at Seto with sad and slightly widened eyes. Despite his constant insistence, she had never believed that the whole world would turn its back on him if his secret got out. She had never thought that other people would see him to be as polluted as he saw himself. But with every passing detail her heart broke more for Seto, and her faith and trust in the people around her waned more and more.

"I don't care about me," he said in an undertone that suggested he was smothering his anger once more. "I can't stop them from harassing me. But if word gets out that you and I are..."

"Together?"

He nodded solemnly before pressing on. "If that gets out, I won't let them come after you."

"I'm pretty sure word _has_ gotten out... But don't worry about me," she added, a thought occurring to her. If people were truly coming after Seto this hard, she knew that it was only a matter of time before the whispers that had followed Alex in the halls became blatant remarks. And if that was the case, then it meant that somewhere in Domino Grammar School was an eleven-year-old boy who terribly adored and admired his big brother and who was bound to hear about these rumors sooner or later.

"We're done early," Alex murmured, her hand reaching out to touch Seto's. "What do you say we go get Mokuba? He's getting out soon, right?"

Seto's eyes opened as his gaze met hers, the implication of her words hitting him for the first time.

"You don't think they're already talking about this at the grammar school, do you?"

"Either way, I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."

Seto nodded, quickly rising to his feet and hitching his bag up on his shoulder. The fire in his eyes had ignited once more, and Alex was now somewhat reluctant to go and get Mokuba. If someone had dared to pick a fight with Seto's little brother, she could only imagine the fury that he would launch into.

The pair made their way to the front of the library, exiting as was per usual. However, they only made it a few feet down the sidewalk before they noticed three figures obstructing their path.

"Seto, let's just go, okay?" Alex breathed, warily watching the trio that consisted of James, Akki, and Greg.

"Hell no," Seto growled through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing as Greg slowly approached them with a dark smile on his face.

"Having a nice day, Kaiba?" Greg asked, stopping a few feet shy of the pair and shoving his hands in his pockets in a very self-satisfied way.

"If I said yes," Seto said in a cold, indifferent tone that Alex had not heard in a while, "would it wipe that stupid grin off your face?"

"Not even," Greg laughed darkly. "You can play it off all you like, but we both know that your skeleton's out of the closet."

"Just like you, huh, Kaiba?" Akki jeered from behind Greg, and James chuckled along with a few passersby. Several teenagers from the high school that had either been entering or exiting the library had paused to observe the exchange. Now a very small group of ten or twelve people had gathered to watch what might unfold, hoping to see an event worth talking about the next day at school. All the while Alex stood her ground beside Seto, wondering how he would respond. The last thing she had expected was for him to chuckle, but that was exactly what he did.

"You make me sick," he said icily, his eyes closing as a smug smile danced across his lips. "You all think you're so privileged? That you've been let in on some big secret? This is all tabloid trash, but your pathetic little lives are so insignificant that you'll snatch up the first thing you hear and treat it like gospel."

"You're not fooling anyone," Greg said darkly, and Seto's cold gaze fixed on him.

"I don't have to. You've already got them fooled."

There was a moment of hesitation that seemed to ripple through the spectators like a wave over water. Seto was so calm, so in control, that it almost seemed possible that he was right and that all of these dark rumors were lies. Even Alex was impressed with his casual demeanor. And in the back of her mind she remembered what he had said about all businessmen having two sides...

"Shut him up, already!" Akki snapped in an effort to suppress any doubt. The miniscule crowd offered support in hushed whispers among themselves, inching towards Greg, Seto and Alex as though a closer proximity might incite the riot they so desired.

Alex drew slightly closer to Seto, who hadn't even flinched as the likelihood of a fight gradually increased. But she could see the way he was tensing up, bracing himself for an attack. Greg's stare hardened as he took a step forward, his fists clenched tight and his need for revenge only egged on by Akki's insistence.

And then there was a sound of a car horn, and suddenly the small group of onlookers parted, dispersing quickly like animals scattering in fear. Greg, Seto and Alex turned to glance at the street and, to Alex's surprise, saw a familiar car idling along the curb. Her hand gripped Seto's forearm tightly and he nodded, though he never tore his eyes off Greg.

"C'mon, let's go!" Alex said in a hushed voice, pushing Seto along.

"This isn't over," Greg growled, his eyes throwing knives at Seto's back as they passed. Seto showed no sign of having heard the threat save for a simple nod of the head. Meanwhile Akki glared after the pair of brunettes, and James only seemed disappointed that he had missed the chance to see a good fight.

Quickly Alex and Seto slipped into the back seat, snapping the door shut. Alex slumped down in her seat, a relieved smile on her face as Thomas Fides turned around in the driver's seat to face them.

"You kids alright?" he asked, his eyes roaming from Alex to Seto, who sat rigidly in his seat, eyes staring out the window directly at Greg.

"Yeah, we're fine," Alex sighed, looking sideways at Seto. "Just a little high school drama, right, Seto?"

"Yeah," he growled, his voice bristling with anger as Greg glared back at him.

"Seto, d'you want me to take you home?" Tom asked, settling back into his seat and shifting the car into 'drive.'

"Actually," Alex piped up, "we were just headed over to the grammar school to pick up Mokuba. D'you think you could drive us there?"

"Sure, no problem."

As the car pulled away from the sidewalk, Alex's hand wrapped tenderly around Seto's. He hardly noticed the touch, but Tom saw it in the rearview mirror and a small smile flickered across his face.

. . . . .

When they arrived at the school, Alex insisted that Tom head on home. After all, she couldn't foresee any more problems requiring rescue, especially around an elementary school. And if, in fact, some sort of issue cropped up where someone had been harassing Mokuba at school, she definitely didn't want Tom around to see Seto explode.

As the car pulled away, the two stood by the chain link fence that surrounded the school waiting for the bell to dismiss the students. Alex threaded her fingers through the crude, metallic wiring, picking at the imperfections with the tips of her fingers.

"Would you mind...?" Seto murmured, lifting his hand to place it tentatively over hers against the fence. "Would you mind if Mokuba and I..."

"What is it?" she prompted gently, her eyes on their hands.

"Would you mind if... if we came to your home for dinner tonight?"

"Of course not," Alex said with a smile, though Seto's frown only deepened. It was the first time he had ever asked to come to her house without first having been invited. She knew how much he hated being at her home in general as he had some idea that he imposed on her "perfect family." But at the same time he enjoyed it, and so was never quite comfortable whether he was invited or not. The mere fact that he had asked spoke volumes about how unsettled the day's events had truly made him.

"Will your parents mind?"

"Seto, my mother thinks you're a saint and Tom just saved us from a mini-riot. I think it'll be okay."

Seto sighed heavily as the shrill school bell rang. Within moments countless children began pouring forth from the main door and Alex wondered how they were ever going to find Mokuba in this crowd. Soon, however, Seto spotted the boy's unmistakable length of black hair, and they watched as Mokuba trudged slowly down the front walk.

"Does he seem okay to you...?" Alex murmured to Seto, who said nothing.

"Mokuba!" Alex called, waving at him when he looked up and over at them. The boy's eyes widened when he finally realized who they were, and he took off at a sprint down the walk, rushing towards them. As he approached, Alex realized that he had a distressed look on his face, and she nodded slowly when Seto mumbled from beside her, "Something's wrong..."

They watched Mokuba run through the front gate and then speed toward them. Seto's eyes widened as the boy flung himself at his brother, wrapping his arms around Seto's waist and closing his eyes tightly as though fighting back tears.

"Please don't be mad at me, Seto!" Mokuba said quickly, while Seto simply stood rigid, ultimately confused about what was going on and how he should handle it. Alex glanced up at Seto for a moment before bending down to Mokuba's height.

"Mokuba, what's wrong?" she asked in a gentle voice. It was then, so close to him, that she realized his clothes were disheveled and that he had smudges of dirt on his face and hands. His hair was even a bit messier than usual, and if Alex hadn't known any better, she might have thought he had gotten into a fight...

"I don't want Seto to be angry with me!" he repeated, and Alex glanced up at Seto as though looking for some form of support.

"I'm not... I'm not angry with you, Mokuba," Seto insisted, placing his hands reassuringly on his brother's shoulders in a gesture somewhat resembling a hug. "Why would I be?"

"Because... because I got into a fight," he said in a low voice, as though he didn't want Seto to hear.

"You what?" Seto asked immediately, his eyes narrowing as he pushed the boy to arm's length. "With who?"

"What happened?" Alex asked, her tone hardly changing from one of tender curiosity.

"Some of the bigger kids were..."

"Were what?" Seto growled, which seemed to make Mokuba even more uncomfortable.

"Were saying bad stuff about you..."

"What did they say?" Alex asked, her brow furrowed slightly.

"I dunno what it means," Mokuba sniffled. "I just know it was something bad..."

"Who was it?" the older Kaiba snapped, his eyes roaming the vast expanse of students milling around the campus. He wanted to find the people that had goaded his brother into a fight. He wanted to hear them say to his face whatever words they had dared utter behind his back, and wanted to give them their punishment for ever having said anything to Mokuba. Alex, however, rose at his side, placing her hand on his arm and drawing his attention back to her.

"Seto, your limo's here," she murmured, pointing out the long car that had pulled up along side the curb on its usual path to pick up Mokuba. "Why don't you go tell the driver you're walking to my house, and I'll try to talk to Mokuba?"

"But-"

"I know how much you want to find whoever did this, but even if you _do_ find them, what are you gonna do? Beat up on a twelve-year-old?" She shook her head, placing a gentle hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "Everything's gonna be fine. You can let this battle go."

Seto stared at her for a long moment, clearly debating within himself whether she was right or not. Finally, though, his gaze dropped to Mokuba and a sigh escaped his lips. He knelt down to his brother's height, looking him in the eye.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, in a voice that was very uncharacteristic of him. Mokuba was silent at first before wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve and nodding his head, trying to put on a brave face for his big brother. Again Seto sighed, not believing the gesture for a moment, but nodding all the same. "We were thinking about going to Alex's house for a while tonight. Would you like that?"

"Yeah..." the boy said, this time with much more conviction. Seto nodded, then rose to his feet once more.

"Alright. I'll go tell the driver to pick us up later." He glanced at Alex for a moment, his brow furrowed. "Watch him for me, will you?"

"Of course," Alex said with a single nod. As soon as Seto was out of earshot, Mokuba glanced up at her with renewed fear in his eyes.

"D'you think he's mad at me?" the boy asked quickly, tears peaking at the corner of his eyes once more.

"Mokuba, he isn't mad at you," Alex said softly, bending down before him. "I promise. Now why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Some of the big kids were making fun of me at lunch," Mokuba said quietly, the removal of Seto's presence seeming to lighten the weight on his shoulders and allow him to speak freely. "And they said stuff about Seto..."

"What kind of stuff?"

"I dunno," he said with an uncomfortable shrug. "Bad stuff... I dunno what it meant..."

"Alright. Then what happened?"

"I told them to stop. And they just laughed at me. Then they..." His voice died away as he hung his head in shame.

"Then what?" she prompted gently.

"We were out in the courtyard... When I told them to stop laughing they grabbed me and pushed me down. They said... they said it was where I belonged..."

"What?"

"They said I should bend over like my brother. That it was where I belonged: down on my knees... like Seto..." Mokuba looked up at Alex, the confusion on his face nothing compared to the broken-hearted look in her eyes.

"What did they mean?" he asked quietly, but all Alex could do was shake her head and blink black the tears that threatened to fall.

"It isn't important," she said with a sad smile. "You did good, Mokuba. I'm proud of you, and I bet Seto is, too."

"You really think so?" the child asked, and Alex nodded reassuringly.

"Yep. He's just worried about you, and he doesn't want you getting mixed up in fights like that. He's only looking out for you, just like always." Her smile brightened as she brushed the dirt from Mokuba's clothes and straightened his uniform. "And if I were you, I'd take his advice and stay out of fights. Speaking of which, did you know that _he_ nearly got into a fight today?"

"Huh?" Mokuba's eyes widened slightly. "_Really?_"

"Mm-hmm. This guy at school's been giving him a tough time, and he met us outside the library today and tried to get Seto to fight him. And d'you know what Seto did?"

"What'd he do?" the boy asked anxiously.

"He played it off without a sweat," Alex said with a wink. "What else would you expect from your big brother?"

Alex's words seemed to lift Mokuba's spirits, and just in time, too. The limo had just pulled away and Seto was headed back to Mokuba and Alex with a frown on his face. Before Alex could even ask what might have been the matter, he reached out a hand and ruffled Mokuba's hair-more out of an attempt to distract his kid brother rather than brighten his mood, though the boy smiled against the gesture anyhow.

"What's up?" Alex asked, a small smile accompanying her words.

"Nothing important." His hand shifted to take a gentle hold of Mokuba's shoulder. "Now, about this fight. How much trouble did you get into?"

"Not much... a teacher came over and broke us up. He gave us warnings, and that was all."

"No calls home?" Seto asked, his eyebrows arching in amazement.

"Nope. He said it was 'cause we normally didn't get into trouble..." Mokuba stared up at his brother apprehensively. "That's good, right?"

"Yeah, that's good, Mokuba," Seto said with a relieved sigh, and Alex knew he had been worried about what punishment Gozaburo might hand out if news of the fight had reached his ears. "But... I don't want you getting into anymore fights, no matter what anyone says. Understood?"

"Okay, Seto. Can we go now? If we're late, Mrs. Fides won't let me help set the table!"

"Yeah, Mokuba, we can go," Alex said with a chuckle. The raven haired boy smiled, quickly taking off a few steps ahead of the teens with Alex and Seto walking slowly behind him.

"Did he tell you anything about the fight?" Seto asked in an undertone, his eyes trained on the ground.

"Yeah."

"And?"

"And it really isn't a big deal. Just some kids giving him a hard time."

"Because of me."

"Seto-"

"What did they say?" he asked quietly, his eyes lifting to meet hers. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"Just stupid stuff. Mokuba doesn't know what half of it means anyway..."

"Stop worrying about how I might react and just tell me," Seto growled, his irritation rising. "This is my brother we're talking about. I want to know what they said to him."

"Fine. They told him to get down on his knees and bend over just like you. And then they pushed him down into the dirt and told him it was where he belonged." Her tone was bitter, and for once it seemed the anger in her eyes was enough to match Seto's. "There. Now you know. Lemme ask you, does it make you feel any better?"

"No," Seto breathed, his fists clenching tightly. "No, it doesn't..."

"I didn't think so," she mumbled, glaring down at the ground for a moment before her eyes lifted to search Seto's face. There was anger, as was usual, but there was guilt, too. And shame. And for all of his anger and pride and hard headedness, Alex knew in that moment that if he could, Seto would have let Mokuba be the sibling of anyone else so that he wouldn't bring so much dishonor on the brother he cared so much for.

. . . . .

The evening passed rigidly. Dinner was stiff, each person careful not to say anything that could possibly lead to the mentioning of the tabloid stories. The small amount of time spent up in Alex's room after dinner was equally somber; even Mokuba could feel the uneasy tension. All the while Seto maintained this silent, guilt-filled sense of composure, and Alex watched him with sad eyes.

As night fell the Kaibas' limo pulled up along side the curb of Willow Road, and Seto and Mokuba gathered their things to leave. Alex walked them to the door, and bid Mokuba goodbye as he raced off to the limo. Seto, however, hung back, waiting until Mokuba had shut the car door before saying a word.

"I'm sorry about all this," he said quietly, unable to look her in the eye. She, however, gazed unflinchingly up at him, a sad smile on her face.

"I'm not," she murmured. "I'm sorry that all of this got out and that you have to go through this, but I'm not sorry that I'm involved. I'm not sorry that I'm with you, or that Mokuba thinks enough of me to confide in me, or that you spend every other evening at my house. I'm just sorry... for why all of this is happening..."

Seto's gaze lifted to meet hers, and for a long moment they simply stared at each other. But soon his face tilted downward and his lips momentarily met hers, craving that warm feeling her kiss normally conjured within him. He needed it. Needed to feel good, needed to feel _something_ before he was forced to go home to Gozaburo. Her hands came up to rest around his neck, her fingers softly brushing along his hairline, and his own hands tenderly grabbed at her waist and pulled her close to him. When they finally parted, the sad smile returned to Alex's lips as she gazed up at Seto's closed eyelids.

"You should go," she breathed. "He'll already be upset that you didn't tell him you'd be coming home late..."

"Let him be upset," Seto mumbled bitterly, though he released Alex from his embrace and opened his eyes to gaze down at the ground once more.

"Everything's-"

"Going to be okay," Seto finished with a sigh. "I know, I know."

"Good," she whispered with a smile, standing on her toes so that she could kiss his cheek. "I'm glad you've finally accepted it."

The smallest of smiles formed across Seto's lips, and with the words "I'll see you tomorrow," he turned and made the slow journey to the limo. Climbing into the back seat beside Mokuba, he glanced out the window one final time before waving the driver on.

"Mr. Kaiba wants to see you as soon as you get home," the driver said quietly, and Mokuba looked up at his brother quickly with wide eyes.

"Are you gonna get in trouble, Seto?"

"It appears that way," Seto sighed, watching the cityscape pass by. "When we get home, you're to go straight to your room, understand? Don't come out, no matter what you hear."

"Okay..." Mokuba said apprehensively, his gaze falling to his lap.

The limo fell into silence and Seto was left to his thoughts. He knew what was going to happen; it would be just as he had told Alex earlier. He would arrive home and get a stern lecture from Gozaburo about staying out late on a school nights-more than likely a few back hands would accompany harsh words. Then he would go up to his room and await the arrival of Gozaburo's colleagues, who would take turns with him all through the night, and more than likely they would have a few choice taunts to throw at him about the tabloid articles. And when the 'customers' ran out and there was no one left to hurt him, Gozaburo would come and finish off what little sanity his stepson might have left. And in the morning Seto would pick himself up, clean his wounds, and go to school as though nothing had happened.

And with all that in mind he turned to look at his brother, offering him the smallest of smiles as he murmured, "Don't worry, Mokuba. Everything's going to be alright."


	21. Die Here

**Author's Note: I'm late; I apologize. Seto's a bit OOC today—just like everyday, right?—but you can't blame the kid. He's having a hard week. And it's about to get a lot harder. Please don't forget to check the LiveJournal for updates—such as explanations for any and all update delays, as well as responses to anonymous reviews. Speaking of reviews, don't forget to Review on your way out!**

* * *

If Seto had thought that everything was going to be 'alright,' he was terribly mistaken. When he arrived home, Gozaburo awaited him with a stern talking to on his tongue and a fire in his backhanded swing. What made Seto think he could stay out as late as he wished without permission? Did he not know discipline? Did he think that he could get away with anything he pleased? _Dare he think he was superior to his stepfather?_ Each word was a yell, each question accompanied by another slap across the face...

When Gozaburo's rage had forced Seto to the floor with a bloodied nose, the teen was then sent upstairs to await his clients. As the hours passed, he couldn't help but notice the somewhat larger number of 'guests,' and he knew that the now well-publicized scandal had attracted the curious. Those who had heard whispers of the rumor before now wanted to see just what all the hype was about bedding the Kaiba boy. When the sweet relief of morning came, Seto could hardly pick himself up to make it to the shower. His body was sore and his mind was clouded from the lack of sleep, but he wanted nothing more than to be dressed and on his way out the door. Wanted nothing more than to be on his way to school...

The next night was only somewhat better than the last.

"You're falling behind," his stepfather had declared as servants hauled several armfuls of books on economic and business theory into his bedroom. "Your school work and public life are becoming a distraction, and it's time you were reminded of your true purpose."

This nonsense about being distracted was, of course, a lie and Seto knew it. But this was his stepfather's way of telling him that these tabloid articles were _his_ fault. That he would have to suffer for the disgrace and shame he had brought to the Kaiba name. The fact that Gozaburo had forced each and every magazine to issue a public retraction of their "libelous" stories was irrelevant. It was the principle of the matter, and Seto had to be punished.

The assignments and drills would last all night, and the brunette would never see a moment's rest. The following morning Alex would ask him if anything was wrong, and he would tell her no. But that same evening Gozaburo would take up a short whip from his table of assorted torture devices and would drill his stepson on the previous night's studies. For every wrong answer he would rap the switch across the boy's shoulder blades until, finally, Seto's eyes had become so blurred with tears of pain that he could no longer see his hands resting on the desk before him. They would repeat the exercises over and over, with Seto choking back sobs every time the thick whip would strike across his skin. Needless to say, the review lasted all night.

Again he did not sleep. For four nights this continued, each evening littered with some form of punishment and little to no rest.

Meanwhile the days were hardly better. The news of the tabloid articles had spread like wildfire, and everywhere that Seto went within Domino High he could feel the eyes of his peers upon him. What had once been looks of awe and curious whispers were now hardened glares and condescending words spoken with little effort at concealing them. Seto hardly cared about this increase in attention, but found himself more concerned with the rumors that Greg Johnson was still gunning for a fight and that he would have it, one way or another. That, coupled with the lack of sleep and increased workload from his stepfather, left Seto drained and lifeless. And he did a very poor job of hiding it.

"Will you please talk to me?" Alex asked him as she stood with Seto at their lockers. She had watched Seto visibly deteriorate over the last few days. Each day he seemed more exhausted, more apathetic, more dead to the world. His mood had become increasingly deadpan, and what little light had burned in his eyes had become increasingly dull. The only emotion he had bothered to show in the past few days was anger, which had surfaced at some rather inappropriate moments. For instance, he had snapped at Alex for asking if he would like to eat lunch with her on Tuesday, and had barked at Mokuba to "get back in the car" when he got out of the limo to say hello to Alex the day before. It was no surprise, then, that when Seto arrived to school that particular Friday morning, Alex felt that he seemed so utterly exhausted and lost in his way that she couldn't possibly ignore it any longer.

"There's nothing to talk about," Seto murmured, his voice unbearably monotone. "Everything's fine."

"Oh really?" she breathed as he closed his locker door. "And when was the last time you slept?"

For a moment he said nothing. He knew that he could lie to her—she might not buy it, but there was always the off chance that she'd let the subject die. But staring down into her caring eyes, he also knew that he did not have the strength or will or want to lie to her—not today.

"Sunday," he mumbled, dropping his gaze so that he would not have to see whatever concern passed across her features.

"Oh, Seto..." she whispered, her brow furrowing. The concern in her voice almost made him feel guilty, and when he finally turned to face her he found that he could not look her in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me—?"

"Because it isn't important!" he snapped, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the floor. The two were silent for a moment before Seto's gaze softened. "I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean... It's just, I..."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Seto finally glanced up at her, only to find her looking down in a hurt way. He knew he should have felt guilty, but it only made him angrier. What was wrong with him? Just because he was a little tired and a little overworked didn't mean he had the right to take his fury out on her.

"Why don't we just go to class?" he sighed, hoisting his backpack up on his shoulder as she nodded. The two made the slow walk to Room #306, and though neither might have mentioned it, they both shared the feeling that it was going to be a long day...

The pair didn't talk much through first period. With every passing minute of silence, Seto only felt angrier and angrier. In fact, as the end of the hour drew near, he prayed to whatever God existed that Alex _wouldn't_ speak, for he had no idea what retort might come out of his mouth if she did. All the while Alex knew better than to say a word. She could practically feel Seto's anger emanating from him, and until she could figure out a way to calm him down she knew she would be walking on eggshells...

By the end of the hour Seto felt entirely too boxed in. He felt trapped, caged, enclosed. When the bell rang he sped from the class, leaving Alex to stare after him sadly. He craved the open spaces of the hallways and the air that did not belong to a suffocating classroom. But once in the main flow of the school he found the glares and whispers that followed him to be just as irritating as the stifling classroom had been. The sights and sounds of the bustling school seemed to fill his senses to the point where he felt as though his head might explode, and the constant rush of anger through his veins certainly did nothing to quiet this throbbing migraine.

As Seto's life seemed to continue crumbling around him, Alex spent most of the next two class periods thinking about how she could build him back up. Her attention in class might have suffered for it, but she wasn't terribly concerned with that at the moment. Now she could only linger on the thought of Seto not having slept for four days, and of whatever torturous activities Gozaburo had been forcing him into each and every night.

Once third period Chemistry had ended Alex made a beeline for her locker, eager to switch out her books and then look for Seto. Once again she could hardly think of him sitting off by himself all through lunch in some empty classroom, fuming over the downward spiral he seemed to be trapped in. She thought to take a short cut through the courtyard to get to the cafeteria faster, but on her way became distracted by a rather large group of students that had gathered in a circle off in a corner of the quad. On any other day she would have paid it no mind, but today of all days she had a bad feeling about this... Quickly she made her way to the crowd, beginning the slow, arduous process of fighting her way to the center to see what was going on.

It just so happened that within the center of the circle stood Seto, staring none other than Greg Johnson down with a cold hatred uncharacteristic of someone so young. He could not believe he had been cornered into this position, could not believe he had stopped when Greg had called his name or let their exchange long enough to attract attention, least of all a congregation of this size. But now he could hardly find a way out, and his sleep-deprived mind seemed far too sluggish to really give a good exit strategy much thought...

"I'm warning you, Johnson," he growled, grasping for last ditch efforts of escape as his fists clenched. "I'm not in the mood for this."

"Tough luck, Kaiba," Greg sneered. "You're gonna pay for what you've done."

"Put that faggot in his place, Greg!" a voice shouted from the crowd.

"Yeah, Greg! You show him!"

"Gotta give the people what they want," Greg said with a smirk as he drew closer to his prey. Seto only swallowed hard as his eyes narrowed.

_You can't hit him_, a voice said in his head. _He'll tell his father, and his father will tell Gozaburo. If you so much as touch him, you're __**dead**__._

Greg seemed to realize that a thought had distracted Seto, because he chose that moment to make his first move. Lunging forward before Seto had even realized he'd moved, Greg's fist collided with his jaw, knocking him to the ground. The crowd let out a roar of cheers and laughter, and Greg chuckled darkly as he stared down at Seto.

"Don't get up, Kaiba," Greg laughed, watching as Seto slowly began to climb to his feet. The corner of his lip turned up in disgust, and as Seto rose to his knees Greg's foot connected with his gut, grounding him once more. "I _said_ don't get up."

"Seto!" Alex shouted, finally coming to the center of the crowd and spotting Seto on his hands and knees. His eyes were blown wide with the pain from the kick, and he hardly seemed to hear her as she called his name. Hesitating only for a moment, Alex quickly moved forward as though to run to Seto's side, but someone grabbed her arm and held her back. She was hardly aware of who had stopped her, but only knew that she needed to get to Seto.

"Seto!" she shouted again, and his head turned slightly in her direction. For a moment his eyes connected with hers, and he could see the distress in her face. His gaze fell to the ground for a moment, and then he slowly began climbing to his feet once more.

"Is your girlfriend here to save you?" Greg laughed, and the crowd laughed with him. Seto stood on his feet once more, his eyes narrowing.

"Leave us alone," he growled through clenched teeth, turning slightly as though to walk to Alex.

"I'm not done with you yet, Kaiba!" Greg shouted, and Seto froze, his frown deepening. "You might think you're better than us, but we know better. Your skeleton's out of the closet."

"Just like you, huh, Kaiba?" someone shouted in the crowd, and another laugh rippled through the mob. All the while Seto remained silent and unmoving.

"What's it like to be the most famous whore in Domino?" Greg teased, his smug smile growing. "We're all just dying to know."

Still Seto said nothing, a shadow falling over his face.

"Oh, come _on_, Kaiba! Don't you wanna brag about all the different men who've screwed you? Don't you wanna tell us about all the kinky _fun_ you've had?"

"Cut it out, Greg!" Alex shouted, her eyes never leaving Seto. He couldn't take this and she knew it. He was far too stressed, far too angry. He couldn't last much longer without all of that anger and rage spilling forth...

"Or what? Greg sneered. "This bitch is gonna put me in my place? Hah! I'd like to see him try."

"Seto, just walk away..." Alex said, her voice just loud enough for Seto to hear. But he did not move, did not answer. He simply stood with his eyes on the ground and his fists curled tight.

"C'mon, Alex!" Greg laughed. "Don't you think this is hilarious? Seto Kaiba, up on his pedestal, gets knocked down a peg or two."

"No! It isn't funny, it's _cruel_! None of this stuff is true anyway! You're just glorifying a bunch of sick rumors!"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Greg said, as though recalling something. "He's been screwing you, too, hasn't he?"

"That isn't true either!" Alex insisted, watching as Seto's face darkened.

"So you two _aren't _together, then?" Greg asked, and when Alex didn't answer, he simply laughed. "You're just trying to cover yourself. There's no point in denying it: Kaiba's all fucked up."

Seto finally looked up, his eyes locking with Alex, and for the first time she was actually scared of him. There was a fire in his eyes that she had never seen before, an anger that he would not be able to suppress.

"So you've been banged by all of your businessmen," Greg said with the air of ticking off a list. "Bet your dad's been getting some from you, too. So I gotta ask: who's your kid brother getting it from?"

"Greg, don't!" Alex shouted, terrified of the reckoning his words might bring. "_Please!_"

"Are you letting your brother get fucked too?" Greg sneered, ignoring Alex as he smiled wickedly. "Or are you fucking him yourself?"

And that was all that Seto Kaiba could bear.

There was a sudden flurry of movement so fast that no one truly comprehended what was happening until Seto had Greg pinned to the ground. One fist after another crashed into every inch of Greg that Seto could reach, each and every punch deliberately harder than the last. After a good minute or so of this, any blow to the face or ribs was followed by a resounding crack that hinted at some form of internal damage. It was blind fury, senseless rage, and there was no real intent other than to deal out as much pain as possible.

"WHO'S THE BITCH NOW, _GREG_?" Seto growled, landing a strong punch to Greg's nose. "WHO'S ALL FUCKED UP NOW?"

"Seto, _no_!" he heard Alex cry from somewhere behind him, but he wouldn't stop. How dare this filth even suggest that he would hurt Mokuba? How dare he accuse Seto of abusing his younger brother the way that Gozaburo had polluted him? No, he wouldn't stop. He would give Greg Johnson everything that he deserved and more. He would give him what Mr. Johnson and the other businessmen deserved, what Gozaburo and the tabloid reporters and the rumor-spreading kids at school deserved.

Only a minute or two passed as Seto continued attacking Greg undisturbed, and all too soon he felt hands on his shoulders, pulling him back and away. At first he ignored the restraint, continuing to crush Greg's face with his fists. But soon the pulls and holds grew irritating, and he tried to shove the hands off of him while simultaneously attempting to pursue his thrashing of Greg.

"Seto, stop. _Stop!_" came the sound of Alex's voice, and it was then that he realized that she was the one trying to pull him away from Greg. She shifted in front of him, pushing him by the shoulders and forcing him backwards. He allowed her to move him back, though his eyes were still fixated on Greg's bloody mess of a face.

"Seto, he's down," she breathed quickly, her hands still pressed against his shoulders to make sure he would not try to attack Greg again. "That's enough. He's not gonna say anything now."

Seto's eyes narrowed on her for a moment, a new flame of hate sparking at her suggestion that he had done "enough." It wasn't possible for him to have done "enough" because there wasn't enough time or violence in the whole world to give Seto the revenge he craved. He had been prepared to tell Alex just that, when a voice from the crowd broke the heavy silence.

"Mr. Tashi's coming!"

"The principal," Alex breathed, though the name needed no explanation. The crowd began to mill about in a rather disorganized way, students not wanting to be found at the scene of such violence by the principal. Before Alex even had a chance to think about getting Seto away from the gory scene, the principal had already forced his way through the crowd with the assistant principal and a policeman following close behind him. Somebody must have squealed.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Mr. Tashi bellowed, his eyes roaming from Greg, who was apparently unconscious, to Alex, who shrunk slightly towards Seto, and then to Seto, who stood tall with bloody fists and burning eyes.

"Kaiba attacked Greg!" someone called from the crowd, several other students shouting their validation. Tashi's eyes turned on Seto, whose emotionless mask remained unchanged.

"That's not true!" Alex said immediately, but fell silent when she felt Seto's hand close tightly around her wrist.

"Be quiet," he growled under his breath, his gaze never leaving Mr. Tashi.

"But Seto—"

"Don't get involved," he hissed as Tashi walked towards him, an authoritative fury emanating from him.

"KAIBA, MY OFFICE! _NOW_!"

At first Seto did not move, and the two stared each other down in a heavy silence. But after a long moment of this, the brunette stalked off towards the school. The police officer followed him to make sure he did as he was told, leaving Mr. Tashi to chase off loitering students and the assistant principal to phone an ambulance for Greg. And in the middle of all the fuss, Alex stood staring after Seto with nothing but worry in her eyes.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Several hours later, Seto found himself sitting in the hall outside the principal's office, his eyes downcast and his expression blank. All afternoon he had been yelled at, sworn at, interrogated and chastised. He was told that his actions had been brash, unacceptable, and unwarranted. Words like "expulsion" and "lawsuit" were tossed around multiple times. Several phone calls were made to Gozaburo's office, but none made it past his secretary.

And so it was with what seemed to be very little satisfaction that Mr. Tashi told Seto he would be suspended from school for three days time, and would be permitted to return the day before school let out for the holiday break in order to complete his midterm exams. He was then ordered to wait outside in the hall until the end of the school day, at which time he would be permitted to leave.

When the bell rang at three o'clock to dismiss the school, Seto did not move. He didn't want to leave, because leaving meant going home. So he simply stayed where he was. Students passed him by and their hushed whispers went with them, but he hardly noticed. All he could do was replay the events from that morning over and over in his mind.

He had lost control. All of that rage and hate had poured out of him, poured out of his fists and into Greg Johnson. He couldn't say that he regretted what he had done. After what Greg had said about Mokuba, he could have probably beaten him to death. Would have, if Alex hadn't stopped him.

Alex. The look on her face, the terror in her eyes. She had been scared of him, and he knew that. And after what he had done, he wasn't sure if she could stand the sight of him. His outbursts before had been different. It was only ever vocal and never so wrathful. But now... now he had crossed a line. He had taken things too far. It would be a miracle, he felt, if she ever spoke to him again.

Needless to say, he was surprised when she sat down beside him only fifteen minutes later.

"How are you?" she asked quietly, but he did not answer. For a moment or two they sat in silence, Seto staring at the floor while Alex watched him. Soon, though, she reached forward and wrapped her hand tenderly around his wrist. "Seto? Why don't we get you cleaned up...?"

Seto glanced down at her hand on his arm, wondering what she meant by getting him cleaned up? Then he saw his hands and realized that he still had Greg Johnson's blood on them. No one had mentioned it all afternoon, and he had never even thought about it. Only Alex cared enough to ask him if we wanted it gone. In truth, this didn't surprise him at all...

Slowly she rose to her feet, gently pulling him with her. He never met her gaze, but the fact that he obliged her was enough to let her know that he would follow. Hitching her backpack high on her shoulder and taking Seto's bag in her free hand, she silently led the way to a unisex faculty bathroom. She held the door open for him, and once he was inside she shut the door and locked it. She then dropped their bags by the door and finally turned to face Seto once more.

He stood beside the sink, his gaze still turned down. His expression was blank and empty, and his blue eyes were the same. All anger was gone, only to be replaced by a hollow vulnerability. Despite the fact that Alex had come to get him, he still could not bear to look at her for fear that he would find nothing but disappointment on her face. Instead his deadened stare remained on the floor, the only sign of life in him being that he continued to stand.

Alex crossed to meet him, turning the knobs of the sink until the water that poured from the spout was lukewarm. Seto remained silent as she took one of his hands in hers, running it beneath the gentle flow and cleaning the dried crimson from his skin. As it washed away, Alex realized that Seto had busted his knuckles on Greg's flesh and bone, and so she took some soap and attempted to clean the wounds.

"I'm... sorry..." Seto whispered, his voice heavy with pain and shame. For the first time he had let loose all of his rage, and now all that was left was his guilt and self-loathing.

"Don't apologize," she said quickly, taking his other hand and cleaning it as well. "You don't have anything to apologize for."

As she worked he finally lifted his gaze to meet hers. Where he had expected to find disenchantment, he only found concern. Again she had proven him wrong, had exceeded his expectations. For a moment her eyes met his and reflected that strong belief that she had in him. The most fleeting of smiles crossed her features before she looked back to his hands.

"Greg got what he deserved," she added softly, folding a paper towel and placing it over Seto's now bleeding knuckles. "That guy... What an asshole..."

"They tried to call Gozaburo," Seto said, and Alex froze. "They left messages with his secretary."

"It'll be okay," she mumbled, taking another paper towel to place it over his other hand.

"No. No, it won't." His words were very calm, despite the significance of what he was saying. "They've suspended me for three days, and today is Friday. That means for five days straight, I can be punished. For five days, 'home' will be my hell."

"Then why go home at all?" she asked sadly, her gaze meeting his once more. It took a moment for him to realize that she wasn't kidding.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"Forget about going back and just come home with me. We can go get Mokuba from school and then we'll all walk to my house. We can have dinner and Mokuba can help my mom do the dishes the way he loves to. We can go up to my room and you can get a couple hours of sleep."

"Alex, I can't just_—_"

"Why can't you?" she asked, a pleading touch to her voice. "What's so special about going home to him_ now_?"

Seto turned the thought over in his mind, blue eyes falling to stare at his hands in hers. It was a simple idea, really. _Don't go home._ He was going to be punished anyway. What was the point in rushing home to the hell that awaited him when he could just as easily put off that same degree of torture for a few hours?

"Just come to your house, then?" he asked, his sarcasm once again surfacing as a reflex for a moment when he had nothing else to say. "Just pretend as though everything is all right and that nothing in this whole wide world could possibly be wrong?"

"Yes."

Seto shook his head, tearing his gaze from the intensity of her stare. He sighed, bit his lip, looked at anything but her. Finally, though, his eyes fell to their hands once more, and he swallowed hard. More than anything he wanted to be able to forget his stepfather, to forget the mansion, to forget the company and Johnson and Greg and his stupid suspension. He wanted to go home with Alex and to go up to her room, to fall asleep beside her while she did algebra homework and to never go back to that tomb of a mansion. But he knew better. He _knew_ he could not get away. Wasn't that what Gozaburo had said, after all?

_You will __**never**__ escape me..._

"Seto?"

"I'll go with you," he said hoarsely, his eyes meeting hers once more, and for a moment Alex thought better of this. Seto was right: it all sounded great in theory, but at the end of the day when Seto went home, Gozaburo would still be there, waiting and possibly more furious than before...

"You don't have to—" she began, but he stopped her quickly.

"You're right. I don't have to. But I want to."

The pair stared at each other in silence for a minute more before Alex nodded, looking back to Seto's hands.

"Then we'll finish here and go," she whispered.

The next few minutes passed in silence. Once Seto's hands were clean and his cuts had stopped bleeding, the pair took up their bags and began the slow walk to Domino Grammar School. There the youngest Kaiba joined their walking party. Mokuba immediately noticed the small cuts along the back of Seto's hands, but after taking one look at the distant expression on his brother's face he knew better than to ask about them. Instead he made small talk with Alex about his day and asked what the plan was for the afternoon. Sooner or later, Seto would tell him what had happened; there was no point in rushing things.

When the trio finally arrived at Alex's house, Moriah immediately swept down upon them. Her enthusiasm and bubbliness seemed to excite Mokuba, just as it did every other night, and he quickly took off upstairs to dispose of his backpack so that he could rejoin Mrs. Fides in the kitchen. Seto followed his brother alone at Alex's insistence, leaving the brunette to wander off to the kitchen after her mother.

"Hey, mom?" Alex asked quickly, poking her head in through the doorway. "Do you mind if Seto and I eat upstairs in my room tonight?"

"Well, I guess not..." Moriah cocked her head to the side, her brow furrowing. "Why?"

"Nothing, really. It's just been a long day. Kinda thought it would be a nice change of pace, you know?"

"If you say so." The mother paused for a moment more, staring at her daughter before shrugging. "I guess it's alright."

"Thanks, mom!" Alex said with a smile before dashing out of the kitchen and up the staircase to her room.

"Has Mrs. Fides started making dinner yet?" Mokuba asked quickly, looking up from his backpack with eager eyes.

"Nope," the brunette said as her smile widened. "Bet if you hurry down you can make it before she does."

Mokuba grinned, zipping up his bag before racing past Alex and thundering down the stairs. She chuckled before letting the door swing closed. Her eyes then turned to find Seto sitting on the floor, leaning against her bed with his eyes on the carpet.

"Hey, Mr. Kaiba," she said softly, sitting down beside him and leaning gently into his shoulder. "How're you feeling?"

"Dead."

"Then get some rest."

Seto's head hung slightly. He ran his hands through his hair before smothering his face in his palms. He felt Alex shift beside him, her fingers gently stroking his hair as she pressed her forehead came against his temple. A long sigh issued through his lips, and soon he had slid sideways into her, resting his forehead on her shoulder with his eyes pressed shut.

He didn't care how pathetic he looked, how weak, how dead, how hollow. None of it mattered. He lived for the gentle tug of her fingers in his hair, for the slightest movement of her frame as she breathed. He could die here. He wouldn't mind dying here...

. . . . . . . . . .

When Seto awoke, he had a headache. A terrible one. His eyes stung when he attempted to open them, his brain felt like it was throbbing. For the longest time he simply lay still, trying to recall where he was and what had happened before he had fallen asleep.

He was lying on something hard and firm, but his head was resting on something soft. Light shone through his eyelids, but it was a dim light, artificial, so he was inside somewhere. But what did he remember? What did he.…?

Suddenly he was sitting up, breathing hard, his eyes blown wide in terror. Home. He needed to be _home_. He had done something terrible, and Gozaburo would be furious with him. He needed to be _home_.

"Seto?" a voice asked, and his head turned to find the source of the noise. It was Alex, sitting beside him with a look on her face that suggested she had been prepared for him to react this way. "Seto, it's okay..."

"What time is it?"

"It's just past nine."

"_Shit_..." he growled, running a hand through his hair before tearing it away. "I've gotta get home."

"No, no, hold on a second."

"I don't have a second, Alex, I've gotta go!"

"Seto, _please_," Alex breathed, taking his head in her hands to make him look her in the eye. "Just _stop_. Nobody's called for you yet. Your cell phone hasn't rung. He hasn't come looking for you. _It's okay_."

Blue eyes stared at her, still wide with fear. Didn't she understand? It made no difference whether his stepfather had called for him or sent for him! By now Gozaburo knew what he had done. He knew and was angry and was probably drunk, too.

"Where's Mokuba?" he choked, glancing around the room for some sign of his younger brother.

"He's downstairs, watching TV."

Seto nodded, looking down at the floor. For a moment he sat in silence, collecting his thoughts, before shaking his head and closing his eyes tight once more.

"No, no, it's not okay. Don't you realize how much trouble I'll be in if Gozaburo thinks he has to call me to tell me to come home?" He looked up at her, eyes wide in fear once more. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I tried!" she insisted, her brow furrowing. "Seto, I tried to wake you up so that you'd eat something, but you wouldn't budge. You were out cold."

The teen had been prepared to ask her just how hard she had tried to wake him up, but never managed to get the question out. For just as he had been about to speak, two taps sounded from Alex's door just before Tom stuck his head through the doorway.

"Seto?" he asked, glancing from Alex then back to the Kaiba. "Your father's on the phone. He'd like to talk to you."

It was then that Seto's entire body froze, that far too familiar state of fear washing over him.

"He'll take it in here," Alex said quickly, gesturing towards the phone on her nightstand while hardly missing a beat. "Thanks, Tom."

"No problem," he said, smiling before shutting the door. Alex glanced sideways at Seto, recognizing the paralyzing dread that had seized him. She slowly rose to retrieve the phone, returning to his side seconds later before placing the phone in his hands.

"It'll be okay," she murmured, wrapping her arm around his and resting her chin on his shoulder as he stared down at the phone. "It's just a phone call."

"Just a phone call," he breathed, as though trying to convince himself before switching the phone on and placing it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Tell me something, Seto," Gozaburo's cold voice said in a way that suggested he was about to make a point. "Where are you?"

"At Mr. Fides' house," Seto answers, hesitating for only a moment before answering in a hollow voice.

"I see. So you're with _her_."

"We... we were..." the boy stammered, searching for the excuse he knew he would never find.

"Thomas told me that you were studying."

"We were."

"Yes, I see." Despite the obvious irritation and anger that most likely possessed Gozaburo, he sounded incredibly—almost terrifyingly—calm. "I received several rather troubling messages from the school today. Something about you being in a fight with Greg Johnson. Is this true?"

"Yes, sir."

"His father is very upset. He's here with me now, as a matter of fact, and I believe he'd like to speak with you."

"Yes, sir," Seto murmured, losing more and more of himself with every word. Alex rose on her knees, pulling herself closer to him and pressing her lips to one of his ears while the phone remained against the other.

"He's miles away," she whispered softly, slipping her hand over his. "He can't hurt you now..."

"You have matters to attend to at home," Gozaburo growled, his tone suddenly dangerous. "Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Johnson would like a word with you before the night is through, and I wouldn't mind a piece of you myself. So I suggest you start making your way home as soon as possible. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Seto breathed, his voice barely audible.

"Yes _what_?" the man snarled, his reserve slipping away.

"Yes, father."

"Good." And with that the line went dead.

Slowly Seto lowered the phone to the floor, then placed his elbows on his knees. He smothered his face in his hands, his face scrunched up in some mix of fear and agony.

"Seto?" Alex whispered, placing a gentle hand on his back, but he only shook his head.

"Johnson's there," he said, wide eyes peeking out through his fingers. "And when I arrive, he's going to kill me. And if, by some miracle, he doesn't, Gozaburo will.

"Seto—" Alex pleaded, but he had no mind to hear her.

"Either way, I'm dead."

"Well, then, fine," she said in an exasperated breath. "In that case, what d'you wanna do?"

"What?" he asked, as though noticing her for the first time.

"This is the last time I'll ever see you, and the last time you'll ever see me. So... what d'you wanna do?"

Seto lifted his head from his hands, looking sideways at her. He might have thought she was joking—it would be just like her to joke at a time like this—were it not for the all too serious look on her face. For a moment he remained still, thinking her question over carefully. Soon, though, all thought and rationale had left him. Soon he had turned to face her, advancing on her and locking his mouth with hers. His hand wound through her hair and cradled the back of her head, their lips working rhythmically together.

No, he was sure of it. Here, in this room, he could die happy...

"You guys are gross," Mokuba said as he slipped in through the door, shaking his head in mock disgust. Seto's lips parted from Alex's, but he hardly made any attempt to move away as his eyes pressed shut.

"Gozaburo called," he said quietly. "We have to go."

"I know. Mr. Fides already told me." The youngest Kaiba went through his backpack to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He then closed up the bag and swung it over his shoulder, smiling smugly at his brother. "So why are you guys up here making out if we gotta go?"

"For fun," Alex answered, brushing her lips against Seto's one last time before climbing to her feet. She crossed the room to Mokuba, ruffling his hair with a smile.

"You gotta weird sense of fun," Mokuba said, one eye wincing shut at the gesture, and despite his annoyance at having his hair tousled, he smiled anyway.

"We only do it to bother you," she said as Seto gathered his things.

"I'm flattered."

"This one's got a smart mouth on him!" Alex said over her shoulder to Seto as Mokuba smirked. "I think you're having a bad influence on him."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Seto sighed, double checking to make sure he had all of his books, assignments and paperwork. Alex smiled rather sadly at his words, but tried for a more genuine expression as he moved to the door with his bag in hand.

"Let's go," Seto said, beckoning Mokuba to hurry.

"But you haven't even called for a ride yet!" Alex said as she followed the brothers out of the room and down the stairs.

"I told you," Seto murmured so that only she could hear, "I'm going to my death. I'm sure the car is already in your driveway."

Though Alex knew how intense Gozaburo's hold was on his stepson, she couldn't help but feel that Seto was overreacting. This being the case, she was surprised to find one of the Kaibas' modest modes of transportation already parked at the curb.

"See ya, Alex," Mokuba said with a wave, taking off towards the car without a second thought.

"Later, Mokuba," the brunette said with a faint smile, turning her gaze up to Seto once the car door had shut. Her smile wavered when she found him staring at the ground, head hanging slightly. But her hand found his, their fingers entwining, and it seemed to be enough to bring his eyes up to gaze into hers.

"You never ate anything," she murmured, her brow furrowing in a concerned way that brought the smallest of smiles to his face.

"It isn't going to matter, Alex..."

"It does to me."

"I'd probably just throw it back up anyway, so it—_really_—it doesn't matter."

The words hardly seemed to ease her mind any, so Seto lowered his forehead to touch hers. This, of course, did the trick as he had known it would. A smile lit her features and her eyes drifted shut.

"I won't see you until you come back to school on Thursday, will I?" she asked quietly, the words enough to drive his smile away.

"No... To be honest, it will be a miracle if you see me then, either."

"Seto—" Alex began, but the horn of the car at the curb honked, and Seto pulled back from her as his gaze drifted to the car.

"I have to go," he said quietly.

"If you need somewhere for Mokuba to go next week," Alex said quickly, "he can still come here. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Seto sighed, meeting her gaze one last time. The frown on his face seemed to be etched out of stone, and Alex's grip on his hand tightened. He was afraid; she could see it in his eyes. But despite the fear, she watched as his indifferent mask slowly worked its way across his face. It was her turn to avert her eyes, glancing down at their hands still locked together. Yes, she could stand to see him beaten, could see him marked and scarred, but could not bear to see that cold mask he put on for his stepfather.

"Alex...?"

"Hmm?"

"Everything... will be alright..."

She glanced up at him, at his hollow mask, but looked directly past the mask and at the eyes that reflected fear back at her. For a moment she was silent, but then she nodded slowly and let a smile touch her lips.

"Yeah. Everything'll be alright."

. . . . . . . . . .

A swift kick. A punch. His body thrown into the desk. His head slammed back against a wall. More kicks, more punches, mixed with harsh words and bellowed insults. All blows were directed away from his face, save for one or two. Visible injuries were, after all, no good. But that restriction did not stop his attacker from pouring all of his anger and rage into the teen. It did not stop him from exacting the revenge he sought for the thoughtless beating of his own son...

After what seemed like days—but was, in fact, only a little less than one hour—the beatings stopped. Words were exchanged; someone was going to a hospital to wait for someone to wake up. More words were exchanged, these in hushed tones outside the study that Seto could hardly hear. He didn't want to hear them, really. He was too busy attempting to move different parts of his body, trying to assess how much damage had been done. It was pointless, really, because all too soon his stepfather would come for him. And then the beatings would begin again...

Moments later, his worst fears were realized. He felt new hands clamp around his throat, pull him to his feet, throw him down atop the desk. Several punches, a kick or two. These were only the prelude, however. Seto knew what his stepfather wanted. He had seen him drinking when he had first entered the study, had seen the gleam in his eyes and the wickedness of his smile...

One layer after another, he was stripped of his clothes. Nails clawed at him, rough and calloused hands flipped him on his stomach while feeling of places they didn't belong. He felt heated breath crawl along his flesh, felt teeth biting at his neck. It was all done slowly, deliberately. His stepfather wanted to take his time, to have his fun. He wanted to savor this. After all, he would have five days to do this over and over again, however he chose. Five days during which Seto had nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide.

Five whole days. In that time, Seto could die here...


	22. Unraveled

**A/N: This chapter is way overdue, yet still not quite the kind of quality I'd like it to be. But regardless, thank you so much for your words of encouragement during my extended hiatus. Please let me know what you think in a review, and tune into my LiveJournal for a detailed author's note on this chapter. Without further ado (I know you all have been waiting ages)—I give you Chapter 22. Enjoy.**

* * *

It had been four days since Alex had seen or heard from Seto. Four days, but it felt infinitely longer. The first two days—Saturday and Sunday—were unbearable. There was nothing to take her mind off of the torture Seto was being put through at Kaiba Mansion—nothing but dull homework and even duller TV programming. On Monday she returned to school and was able to distract herself with the grueling reviews her teachers were conducting in order to prepare students for their semester finals. However, Seto's empty seat never failed to draw her eye.

Not once did Mokuba come knocking on the door of 343 Willow Road, and in truth Alex didn't know what to make of this. On the one hand, maybe she was overreacting and Seto's punishment was not as horrid as she had imagined—maybe it was not bad enough for Mokuba to need to leave home. On the other hand, things could have been so bad that Seto did not want Mokuba telling Alex what was being done to him. Regardless, she had no way to find out what was happening, and would simply have to wait and see Seto on Thursday.

On Tuesday night Alex found herself sprawled out on her bed, once again gazing at the telephone on her nightstand and heavily contemplating whether or not she should dial up Seto's number. She knew that it was probably the worst thing that she could do—if Gozaburo found out Seto could be in serious trouble. But the waiting and the not knowing were driving her mad, and she wasn't sure if she could take much more of it. It was at that moment that the distraction the fifteen-year-old so desperately craved finally came in the most unlikely of forms.

Just as Alex's hand reached out to grab the receiver she heard three knocks from her door. Immediately both her hand and gaze fell back to her Chemistry book and steno pad, her grip on her pencil tightening.

"Come in," she called, trying to furrow her brow in a convincing look of concentration. The door swung ajar and Moriah's sweet smile poked into the room.

"Got a minute?" she asked in an all-too-motherly tone that immediately made Alex suspicious.

"Sure," she sighed, closing her book. "Anything for a break."

"Workin' hard, huh?" Moriah asked, crossing to Alex's stereo to turn down the volume.

"Yeah... You know how it is."

"Well, I know you'll do well," the woman said before sighing, as though the gesture announced a change in topic. "Allie, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

"Sure. What's up?"

"It's... Well, I wanted to talk to you about Seto Kaiba."

"What about him?" Alex asked, sitting up a bit straighter.

"The two of you have gotten rather close, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

"C'mon, Allie, you can talk to me," Moriah said with a knowing smile, as though hoping for some kind of intimate mother-daughter moment. "You and Seto have been going to the library every day after school for a pretty long time now. And he comes here almost every other night..."

"So?"

"Alex, don't think I don't know! You invited the boy over for Thanksgiving dinner, after all!"

"Mokuba came, too," Alex muttered, not liking the way she was losing control of this conversation—not that she ever had control to begin with.

"Yes, but he came to Thanksgiving dinner, regardless. And generally you don't bring a boy home during a family holiday unless he means something to you. Something more than a school project, anyway."

"Mom, I don't... I mean, this really isn't a good time to start talking about Seto, okay?"

"What d'you mean? Did something happen?"

"It's a long story... And, really, it's not that big of a deal."

"Is it something I should know about, Alex?"

The teen hesitated for a moment before shaking her head with an innocent enough shrug. Moriah seemed to know more than she let on, however, because she sighed heavily and dropped her eyes in a disappointed fashion. There was a moment of silence before she looked at her daughter once more.

"Allie, I _know_ what happened at school. I know what Seto did to Greg Johnson."

"What? How d'you...?"

"Seto's father told Tom. He felt that we should know what Seto did, and frankly I—"

"_Gozaburo_ wanted you to know?" the brunette murmured, a frown touching her lips. This must have been part of Seto's punishment. The "attachment" he had told her about so long ago. Gozaburo was going to try to split them up? Well, she'd like to see him try.

"Yes, he did," Moriah said sternly. "And I can't believe I had to hear it from someone other than you!"

"Mom, _really_, it wasn't that big of a—!"

"Alex, that poor boy was sent to the hospital. Seto could have _killed him_."

"Do you even know _why_Seto was in a fight to begin with?"

"Does it matter?" Moriah asked coldly, and Alex shook her head, not quite certain of what she was hearing.

"Greg... Greg has been after Seto ever since those tabloid stories came out. He cornered Seto into a fight. And when he started trashing me and Mokuba, Seto decided that he wasn't going to take it anymore."

"He should have shown some self control."

"He was standing up for me!" she said exasperatedly. "Doesn't that mean anything?"

"Not when it means beating a poor boy into a coma."

"Mom!"

"What if Seto ever hurt _you_ like that? What if one day you said something to him about his brother or his father that he didn't appreciate and turned on you like some kind of wild animal? Then what would you like me to do?"

"Seto would _never_ do that," she replied in a low voice, the very insinuation causing her temper to rise. Seto had been in their home a hundred times and had never been anything but polite and respectful. But now, all of a sudden, Moriah thought he was a "wild animal"?

"And another thing. I'm glad you mentioned those tabloids because that's something else I wanted to talk to you about. What do you know about these articles? What has he been telling you?"

"That they aren't true."

"Yes, well, that's what you would expect him to say."

"You mean you think those rumors _are_ true?"

"And what makes you so sure that they _aren't_?"

Alex hesitated for a moment, blinking hard as she tried to adjust to the sudden change of topic. This was something she'd have to lie about, and in truth she didn't enjoy lying to her mother. She could do it, yes, but didn't enjoy it...

"Mom... you know Seto."

"I _thought_ I knew him."

"No, you _do_ know him. Has he ever given you any reason to think he would... would even do those things?"

"Now that you mention it, he has."

"Like_ what_?"

"He's strange. He's stiff and rigid and the way he shies away if anyone gets too close to touching him. Except for _you_, of course. You can get as close to him as you want and he'll behave as though it just isn't close enough. And the way he watches you... It's like he's waiting for you to disappear into thin air. He's just... strange..."

"Since when does being strange or protective qualify someone as being a corporate sex toy?" the brunette snapped, her temper rising once more. If Seto ever heard Moriah saying these things, he would never live it down. It would only prove to him that he was no good for her.

"You sound just like your father," the woman said with a hollow laugh.

"Dad? You talked to _dad_ about this?"

"As a matter of fact I did."

"And what did he say?"

Moriah hesitated, and a smile stole across Alex's face.

"He didn't believe it either, did he?"

"Sam... wanted to talk to you first before passing a verdict."

"Yeah, I bet he did."

"Regardless, I don't want you seeing Seto anymore."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really. When you first started at Domino High School you were friends with Greg Johnson and a bunch of other people. And then Seto Kaiba came along and swept you off your feet and suddenly nothing and no one else mattered."

"He didn't sweep me off my feet! He's a good friend! Ten times the friend Greg Johnson and any of his groupies could ever be. They don't give a shit about anyone but themselves!"

"You watch your language, young lady," Moriah warned. "I will not let you talk to me that way."

"And I won't let you talk about Seto that way!" Alex shot back, feeling emotion rise in her throat. In her mind's eye she could see Seto lying curled up and broken in his bed while Moriah stood there trashing him. "He hasn't done anything wrong! He doesn't deserve to be treated like this."

"Maybe so, but my primary concern isn't Seto Kaiba. My primary concern is _you_. And I won't let you be involved with some reckless, corrupt, lust filled—"

"STOP!" Alex shouted, finally having heard enough. She couldn't take anymore, she just couldn't. There was a long moment of silence as Moriah stared pityingly at her daughter.

"You never used to be like this, Allie. You never would have yelled at me. That Kaiba boy has changed you, and... and I don't know what to do about it."

"Just stop talking," the brunette breathed, smothering her face in her hands.

"I told you that I talked to Sam," the mother continued as though Alex had not spoken, "and we've made a decision in regards to your seeing Seto."

Alex's head lifted from her palms as she stared wearily up at the woman. She didn't speak, though. She realized now that words were useless. Nothing was going to dissuade Moriah Fides from her "maternal duties."

"We both decided that it would be better if you put a little distance between yourself and Kaiba. I didn't figure you'd go along with this willingly—"

"That's the smartest thing you've said all night," Alex muttered bitterly, but Moriah pushed on once more.

"So Sam suggested that you spend a few days with him during Christmas break."

"Wait, what?"

"You'll leave on Thursday afternoon, just after school lets out."

"I'm going to stay with dad?"

"Yes, and you'll get back on Christmas Eve. And hopefully Sam will be able to talk some sense into you."

Alex stared up at her mother somewhat stunned. It had been a year since she had last seen her father due to the distance between their homes and her mother's unwillingness to share Alex with Sam. It was a symbol of the woman's strong belief in Seto's guilt that she would finally concede to handing Alex over for a few days.

"I won't hear any arguments about this, Alex," Moriah said as though interpreting her silence to be a frustrated one. "As much as it pains me to see you go, I think this is for the best."

"What does Tom think about all this?" Alex asked when she had finally managed to force a concerned expression on to her face; after all, she didn't want her mother to think she was pleased with this decision.

"He thinks this is a good idea. He thought Seto was a good kid just like you, but now he's not so sure." She was quiet for a moment before sighing heavily. "That Kaiba boy had all of us fooled... myself included."

Alex shook her head, eyes dropping to her Chemistry book. Her father would hear her out, would believe her, and would convince Moriah to ease off and leave Seto alone.

There was only one down side to all of this: another long separation from Seto.

. . . . . . . . . .

The next few days were filled with hours of studying intermingled with hours of packing. Alex kept busy, forcing herself to forget about Seto and focus on whatever task was at hand. But as Thursday grew closer, a knot began to form in her stomach. She kept thinking about what Seto had said—that it would be a miracle if he was able to return to school before the break—and she began to wonder whether she would rather see Seto after five days of torture or not see him at all. But she already knew the answer to that.

Wednesday night brought nothing but anxious and uneasy tossing and turning. Every time she felt as though she might finally sleep she would remember Seto—who probably hadn't slept in days and was more than likely lying in his bed at that very moment, waiting for the next "client" that Gozaburo would send up to his room. And meanwhile, somewhere else in Kaiba mansion, Mokuba lay with his eyes winced shut and his ears covered, praying for the moment when morning would come and he could leave the house again. It was enough to bring her to tears if she dwelt on the thought for too long. But instead she tried to distract herself, and this only made her nervous and fidgety. She spent hour after hour rolling around in her bed, eyes focused on the wall, then the ceiling, then the wall again.

It was sometime around two in the morning that she finally crawled out of bed and left the seclusion of her room. She had no planned destination, though, and only resulted in wandering the house in her oversized shirt and pajama bottoms, eventually seeking refuge in the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of milk and took a seat on a bar stool at the counter. Minutes passed, and the only result of her change of scenery was a change of something to glare at: the white liquid in her glass as opposed to the white walls of her room.

She was angry. She had _been_ angry ever since her mother had told her to pack her bags. Why couldn't Moriah just believe her? Just listen to her, hear her out, _trust_ her daughter for once! That's what it was, after all. A matter of trust. And the fact that Moriah Fides would rather believe tabloids and whispered rumors over the word of her own daughter was possibly the most frustrating thing of all.

_I mean, I understand her being worried_, the brunette thought heatedly. _She's my mom. She's supposed to worry about this kind of stuff. And if Seto had ever given her reason to believe this trash, I'd cut her some slack! But he's been so careful around my family, so worried about making the wrong move, about saying one wrong word that could possibly give away his secret and tear everything to pieces. He's tried so hard, and she doesn't even see that. Now all she can see is the bad._

_And that's just it, isn't it?_ she fumed, rotating the glass in circles. _He worries so much about everyone else, about what other people think. He's so concerned with keeping this pristine image and meanwhile all anyone else wants to do is tear him down!_

It was the sound of the front door opening and shutting that tore the teen from her thoughts. Her head whipped around to see who it was coming in so late, eyes straining to see past the darkness of the room and through the small doorway that lead from the kitchen into the hall. After a moment or two a figure appeared out of the darkness, walking slowly with a hand in his hair and another clinging loosely to a suitcase.

"Tom?" Alex asked in a soft voice, not wanting to startle her stepfather. The man stopped, looking up at her quickly with wide eyes and a furrowed brow. At first his expression held some mix of concern and alarm, but in a moment he ran a hand through his hair and a tired smile took his features.

"Alex," Tom said with a chuckle as he neared the counter. "You gave me a scare. What are you doing up so late?"

"I could ask you to the same thing," the teen said with a smile. In truth, she welcomed her stepfather's company. It would be a welcome relief from dwelling on her dark thoughts.

"A _very_ long night at the office," the man sighed as he sat his brief case down. "We're working on a rather important project with KaibaCorp and our R&D department is running a bit behind schedule."

"Sounds like fun," Alex murmured, hesitating for a moment before asking in the most casual voice she could manage, "Did you happen to go by KaibaCorp today?"

"As a matter of fact I did. Had to drop off a few documents to relay our progress and run a few preliminary ideas by their development team. Gozaburo seems to like where we're headed."

"You saw Gozaburo?"

"Yes, but only for a minute or two."

"And Seto?"

The words had come before Alex could stop them, and as they left her tongue she internally winced. She had not wanted to seem eager, had not wanted to give away her true purpose of inquiring for fear that Tom would tell Moriah and Moriah would become even more set on keeping the teens apart. For a moment her stepfather stared at her, not particularly surprised by Alex's question but as though he struggled with his wording. After a moment he seemed to resolve his thoughts and form them into words.

"No, I didn't see him. I've been to Gozaburo's office several times in the past few days and I haven't seen him then either."

A silence fell over the pair as Alex looked down to her glass, not quite able to mask her disappointment. Tom watched her for a moment before tearing his gaze away. He moved to a cabinet that exclusively held several of Tom and Moriah's favorite types of alcohol and withdrew what looked to be a half-full bottle of scotch. He took a glass as well, pouring a small volume of the liquid into it before turning back to the counter to meet Alex head on, a sympathetic look in his eyes and a kind smile on his lips.

"You're worried about Seto, aren't you?" he asked in a consoling tone. When Alex did not answer he nodded slowly. "To be honest, I was surprised that you hadn't asked me about him yet. I had assumed you would have interrogated me every day when I came home."

The brunette glanced up at her stepfather, not quite sure that she understood what he meant. First of all, he seemed to recognize that she was concerned about Seto and, what was more, he seemed to have a certain understanding as to _why_ she would be—and should be—concerned.

"Seto got in trouble for something that wasn't even his fault," Alex said in a low voice, as though testing what Tom was willing to believe. "Greg Johnson cornered him into a fight, and he only fought back to defend Mokuba and me."

"Greg's father is telling a different story. He says Seto attacked his son, and Gozaburo believes him."

"And what else does Gozaburo believe?" she asked quietly, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"He believes that he knows what's best for Seto—that he knows better than anyone else how to get an optimal performance out of his stepson." Tom took a small sip from his drink, and when Alex scoffed he smiled. "You think otherwise?"

"Do you have any idea what Gozaburo feels is the best way to get a...—what did you call it?—an 'optimal performance' out of Seto?"

"I know that he chooses a more forceful approach. That he prefers to _make_ Seto do what he wants rather than just encouraging him to do so." He paused for a moment before sighing. "I know that Seto has it...hard."

"What's a normal business meeting like? When Seto's there?"

"It's not too different from when he isn't there, actually," Tom muttered as he considered the contents of his glass intently. "He sits at Gozaburo's elbow, and his stepfather will constantly ask him about how he thinks a deal should be handled or how a problem should be solved. And Seto will answer—the boy is a genius, I'll give him that—but as soon as the spotlight is off of him he goes silent. It's as though he doesn't want to be seen or heard or even noticed. Especially by Gozaburo."

As Tom spoke, Alex's mind wandered back to the dinner at Kaiba Mansion and the way that Seto had behaved in his stepfather's presence. How he seemed lifeless, listless, dead. Her eyes closed for a moment, the image of Seto's hollow gaze burned into her mind.

"And he hasn't been there once in the last few days?" she asked, finally glancing up at Tom once more.

"Not once. Part of his punishment, I suppose. From what I understand the entire mansion is on lockdown. Neither he or is brother are allowed to leave unless accompanied by Gozaburo."

"But then how is Mokuba getting to school?"

"He isn't."

"But that isn't fair!"

"But it _is_ how Gozaburo deals with his stepsons. And there's nothing you can do about that."

"You sound just like Seto," the brunette mumbled, hating the words she was hearing.

"I'm not saying that what Gozaburo does is right, but that it's something that you have to accept—just as Seto has."

"That's ridiculous."

"It's the way it is."

The two were quiet, and Alex avoided her stepfather's gaze. It wasn't for lack of anything to say—she had plenty to argue on Seto's behalf. But even so, she didn't want to hear the way Tom would answer, and so preferred to keep her comments to herself. Clearly he knew that Seto wasn't in a good situation, but his idea that the teen was beyond help was too much for her to bear.

After a long moment Tom sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry about all of this, Alex," he said with a sympathetic frown. "I really am. You've been forced to move to an entirely different country with virtually no say in the matter and you've handled it all really well. And I know that being close to Seto has made the move a lot easier. In all honesty, I think he's a good boy who's just been put in a terrible position. But because of that he's got a few personal problems—regardless of whether or not he's responsible, at fault, or what have you—and I agree with your mom that it might be a good idea to put a bit of distance between yourself and Seto. Just for the time being, anyway."

"Mom said she didn't want me to see Seto again," the brunette answered coolly. "_Ever_."

"She's just worried, Allie. Give her a little while, act like you're cooperating. Pretty soon, once all these rumors fade away, things will go back to normal."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Tom murmured. He took a long drink from his glass before meeting Alex's gaze. "Look. I may not know as much about Seto as you do, but I _do_ know that he's a good kid. Gozaburo is a hard man, and he puts more pressure on that boy than most people will face in a lifetime. Too much is riding on Seto's shoulders, and that kind of stress creates an unstable kind of kid. And you don't want to add to that do you?"

"No..." Alex answered with a touch of hesitancy. Somewhere along the lines of asking whether she wanted to hurt Seto even more, Tom had lost her.

"No, of course not," he said with a nod. "So I think it would be best if—to satisfy your mother and to give Seto a bit of a break—you should just let things go for a while. Maybe he's not quite ready for the kind of relationship you kids seem to be getting into. D'you know what I mean?"

"I think so..."

"Good." He smiled warmly, nodding in a satisfied way. "Good! Now, I don't know about you, but I'm _exhausted_ and I'm hitting the hay."

"M'kay... I'll just stay down here for a little longer."

"Alright then. Sleep well, Allie."

As Tom passed with his suitcase in hand he patted his stepdaughter consolingly on the shoulder and trudged his way to the staircase. He disappeared up to the second floor of the house, leaving Alex to sigh in defeat. That's what it felt like anyway. Defeat. After all, hadn't Tom told her the exact same thing that her mother had said, but only gift wrapped the words to make them sound prettier?

It didn't make much difference, though. She would see Seto eventually, no matter what anyone said. They couldn't be kept apart at school. Not forever anyway.

. . . . . . . . . .

When Alex finally returned to her room she spent most of the night tossing and turning. She couldn't get Tom's words out of her head, and couldn't help wrestling with the idea of being separated from Seto indefinitely.

What would happen if Gozaburo found a way to split them up? _She_ certainly wouldn't be happy. She really did care about Seto, and she cared about Mokuba, too. But all of this talk about splitting the three of them up made her wonder how Seto felt. If they were to split up and never see each other again, would he be upset about it or relieved? Granted he always told Alex that he was happy with the way things were between them, but what if Tom was right about putting too much pressure on him? Maybe he was happy with her, but happier without her?

It was dark thoughts like this that plagued her throughout the remainder of the night and into the daylight hours. She was sluggish getting ready for school, only vaguely aware of the instructions her mother gave her during breakfast to come straight home after school so that she could retrieve her luggage and make it to the airport in time for her flight. She really couldn't have cared less about her flight at this point. There would always be another flight, tickets could always be exchanged. Even her exams meant very little to her now. All that was important was getting to school and seeing Seto.

But when she finally did arrive in her Home Ec classroom, she found Seto's seat empty. At first she thought he might be running late—though it was a desperate assumption about the boy who was never late to anything. Because Whalish had opted out of having a semester final—she felt that tests were a poor way of judging what knowledge a student had gained in school, which Alex took to mean that she was simply too lazy to make a test at all—the brunette spent the hour idly flipping through her study guides for the day's coming tests, glancing up towards the door every time someone walked into or out of the classroom. To her dismay, though, Seto never walked through the door.

The rest of the day went the same way. Seto never showed for any of the other classes they shared, or even for lunch. Every time Alex saw the brunette's empty seat she felt her stomach tie in knots. She wondered how bad things must have been that he couldn't even come to school, wondered if he was hurt that bad or if Gozaburo simply wouldn't let him leave. She wondered if Mokuba had finally been allowed to go to school or if he, too, was still being held prisoner. It was thoughts like these that tore away at her, and it was all she could do to keep herself focused on the simple tasks before her.

And then, suddenly, the school day was over. Alex went to her locker to stow away all the books and things she wouldn't need for winter break, and as she organized the mess she kept her head tucked abnormally far into the locker's depths. Her hope was that when she finally stood straight once more she would find Seto waiting for her on the other side of the metal door, a faint smile on his lips with the intent of surprising her. But when she finally closed the door she realized that she was alone still, and her heart sank.

With her backpack unusually light, the brunette slowly left the school. She stopped on the sidewalk, glancing around for some sign of a limo or "inconspicuous car" that belonged to the Kaibas, but again she was to be disappointed. Instead, though, she saw the familiar gray BMW pull up beside her, and the window rolled down to reveal Tom's kind smile.

"Want a ride?" he asked, and though Alex wanted nothing more than to tell him "no," she found herself nodding and crawling in through the passenger side door.

"Mom wanted to make sure I came straight home, didn't she?" Alex asked bitterly. "That's why you're here?"

"Yes," Tom conceded willingly as they started the short drive home. "She wanted to make sure you weren't... distracted."

"Well she didn't have to worry because I had no reason to be distracted. Seto wasn't even at school today."

"I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo," Tom said after a moment of silence, "but maybe it's for the best. Putting a little space between the two of you like we were talking about."

"Yeah, maybe," the teen mumbled, but in her mind she was screaming that he was wrong. What if Seto was hurt? Hurt so bad that he couldn't come to school? And what if Gozaburo didn't care and didn't get Seto the help he needed?

The journey home was short and quiet, and when they pulled into the drive way Alex bailed out of the car to get her luggage. It took two trips to load both suitcases, and each time Alex walked to the car she glanced around to see if maybe—just _maybe_—Seto or Mokuba was walking down the sidewalk to greet her, to explain Seto's absence, to at least give her an iota of peace. But again, it simply wasn't mean to be.

Once all of the luggage had been packed away and Alex's plane ticket was clasped firmly in her hand, the teen met her mother on the porch, surprised to find she was annoyed by the tears in the woman's eyes.

_I don't see why she's upset_, Alex thought darkly. _She's the one that's sending me away._

"We're gonna miss you, Allie," Moriah said in a somewhat high pitched voice.

"Well, I don't have to leave," she muttered bitterly, now surprised by her own anger. But why shouldn't she be angry? Her own mother distrusted her so much that she felt the need to send her out of the country for a week.

"I already told you that we wouldn't be arguing about this."

"Fine then. We've got nothing to say to each other."

With that Alex turned her back on her mother and retreated back to the passenger seat of Tom's car. She could feel both pairs of parental stares watching her back, and when she finally seated herself in the car she could see them exchanging words—probably still about her. But it made her no difference. Though she hated acting the typical angry teen, she also hoped that her words had stung her mother. At least someone would be hurting besides Seto.

Several minutes later Tom was sitting behind the wheel, sighing heavily.

"Your mother has decided to stay here. She feels it would be better this way... If she didn't see you off."

"Works for me," Alex mumbled as her gaze drifted out the window.

"I really wish you be a little nicer about all this, Allie," he said as he pulled out of the drive way. "She really does have your best interests at heart."

"When she starts cutting me slack, I'll start thinking about her..."

Tom sighed once more, and pulled away from 343 Willow Road to head towards the Domino International Airport. It was as the car drove away that the two youngest Kaibas Alex had been so desperate to see approached house number 343.

"What if she isn't home?" Seto asked Mokuba, glancing down at the boy. It had only been because of his younger brother that he had agreed to make this journey. Seto had gone to school early with every intention of meeting Alex as soon as possible. But the principal had intercepted him before he even made it to his locker, and Mr. Tashi had insisted that Seto remain in his office all day to take his exams, even forcing the teen to take his lunch in the administrative office.

"We wouldn't be doing this if you had just talked to her today," Mokuba mumbled, as though convinced his older brother had simply been too terrified to confront his girlfriend.

"I already told you I never even saw her," he grumbled back. "I never even made it past the principal's office."

"Well, it's your fault for getting caught."

"Like you know. Tashi seemed to think that I'd pummel the first student I saw. It was ridiculous."

"Well it doesn't matter because _now_ we get to see her." Mokuba paused for a moment, glanced ahead at their destination. "You _do_ want to see her, right?"

"Of course I do," Seto breathed. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno," Mokuba said with a shrug. "That's why I asked. I wonder if Mrs. Fides will let us stay for dinner."

"You'll have to ask," Seto sighed as they approached the door.

He did want to see Alex. He _did_. But some separate part of him did not. She had been kind the last time she had seen him, but now that time had passed and she had had time to think about what he had done to Greg, he wondered if she would be just as nice. During the past few days even Seto had begun to have misgivings about their relationship. He could only imagine what the other kids at school had been saying to her, what kind of ridicule she had faced. It was for that reason that, even though Seto had hated the fact that Mokuba had been kept from school, he had at least been thankful that his brother had been spared the aftermath of the first few days of his embarrassing out burst.

"'Are you okay, Seto?" Mokuba asked as he rang the door bell.

"I'm fine," he said with a hard swallow. "Just fine."

The youth opened his mouth to disagree, but just as he did the door opened to reveal Mrs. Fides. She stared at them for a moment before her eyes narrowed on the oldest Kaiba.

"What do you want?" she asked with the air of someone swallowing fire.

"We were wondering if we could see Alex!" Mokuba piped up, hardly seeming to realize the sting in Moriah's gaze. Seto, however, did notice, and his back straightened as though this might help him stand up to the parent.

"No. She isn't here right now. In fact, she won't be here for the next few days, and if I were you I wouldn't try to see her when she gets back."

"How come?" the youngest Kaiba asked, his eyes widening.

"Because she doesn't need to see you. In fact, she doesn't want to have anything to do with you."

"What?" Mokuba questioned, his voice rising slightly.

"Why don't you let Alex tell us that," Seto said evenly. "Where is she?"

"I told you—she's gone. After what happened with that poor Johnson boy she decided to put some space between the two of you. She's gone to spend the first week of the winter break with her father in Boston."

"But that's in America!" Mokuba exclaimed, looking between the faces of his brother and Mrs. Fides. "Why would she want to get away from us? What did we do?"

"You've given my daughter a bad name," Moriah snapped, and though she was answering Mokuba's question it was clear that she was talking directly to Seto. "She's always following you around, into and out of your messes. She baby sits your little brother while you're out doing God knows what—probably sleazing around with your businessmen."

"That's enough," Seto growled, placing his hand on Mokuba's shoulder to pull him away from the woman. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"All you do is bring more harm to my daughter, and I won't stand for it any longer. And before you accuse me of telling you lies, you should know that she agreed to go. She _wants_ to get away from you."

"But... what did we do...?" Mokuba asked with teary eyes. Moriah opened her mouth to speak, but Seto pulled his brother away. He wasn't going to listen to this, and he wasn't going to let Mokuba listen to it either.

"We didn't do anything," Seto growled, glaring at Mrs. Fides.

"Oh, I'm sure you've done plenty, Kaiba. But whatever you do in the future, I can guarantee you'll be doing it with_out_ my daughter." Without so much as a good bye she stepped back into the house, slamming the door in their faces. The siblings stood in stunned for a moment, staring at the white-washed door. Soon, though, Mokuba's eyes turned up towards his brother, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Seto, what'd we do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Mokuba," Seto said quickly, looking down at his brother for only a moment before grabbing his hand and pulling him down the walkway to the sidewalk. He didn't want to give Moriah Fides the satisfaction of seeing his brother's tears. Once at the sidewalk he continued on, dragging Mokuba along behind him. He could hear the boy sniffling and could imagine the tears rolling down his cheeks, but couldn't bear to face him. What was worse was that he could feel a wetness forming in his own eyes, and it was only the anger he felt towards Mrs. Fides that kept his own tears at bay.

"Seto, you're hurting my hand," Mokuba whimpered after several minutes of power walking, and it was then for the first time that Seto stopped and released the small hand from his grip. They both stared down at the ground for what seemed like forever, the silence between them only punctuated by Mokuba's soft cries. Soon, however, Seto knelt down before his brother and placed his hands on his small shoulders, staring him squarely in the eye.

"I'm sorry I hurt your hand," he said in a low voice. Mokuba nodded, rubbing his nose and sniffling. Seto nodded as well before squeezing Mokuba's shoulders gently. "And you didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why doesn't Alex want to see us anymore?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with you," Seto insisted. "It's me... She's upset with me."

"But why would she be mad at you?"

Seto hesitated, his gaze falling for a moment. In truth, he had no answer. When he had last spoken to Alex she had acted as though nothing was wrong. But so had Mrs. Fides... Had five days of separation really done that much damage? Had she really gotten that upset over the entire Johnson affair? He could understand if it had, but to do all of this! To tell her mother so much that she had driven the woman to this poisonous state. And what was more, it seemed as though she had broken her promise, as well, As though had actually told her mother that the tabloid rumors about his involvement with the KaibaCorp businessmen were true.

But why would she do that? Unless she had finally decided that being involved with the CEO-to-be was too much to handle. If that were the case, he would have much rather heard it from her instead of Mrs. Fides. Needless to say, he was upset about the ordeal and wasn't about to let this slide.

"I don't know why she's upset with me... But what Mrs. Fides said wasn't right. And if Alex doesn't want to be friends with us anymore, then we don't need her."

"But Seto—!"

"But nothing. We were okay before she came along, right? And we'll be okay without her again."

Mokuba's brow knitted as he stared up at his older brother with a hurt look in his eye. He didn't want to "be without Alex." He liked her, and he knew that Seto liked her too. But he didn't object or put up a fuss. He wouldn't, because he knew that Seto knew best.

"Whatever you say, Seto," the boy said in a wounded way, his eyes dropping to the ground. The oldest Kaiba hated to see his brother upset, but there was nothing that he could do. Alex was gone, and she had made it perfectly clear that when she did return she wouldn't want anything to do with the Kaibas.

But she couldn't hide from him at school. At the very least he would see her once the break had ended. And when he did see her, he would tell her _exactly_ what her mother had said to Mokuba, and would tell her _exactly_ how he felt about what she had done.

And as Seto and Mokuba resumed their long walk home with sad and bitter thoughts in mind, Alex boarded her plane, wondering where the Kaibas were and whether or not they were okay.


	23. Stop Me Going Home

**A/N: So almost two months later, here we are. A nice, long, fluffy chapter for all of you to enjoy. Reviews would be nice, and you can find the usual lengthy author's note posted over on the LiveJournal. However, don't get used to this fluffy sweet stuff; Chapter 24 will mark the return of the angsty drama you all love so much. But for now, I humbly present you with Chapter 23. Enjoy.**

* * *

It was a long flight—a very _long_ flight—that took Alex to Chicago, and from there she took another plane to Boston. She slept a lot, which was probably not advisable, but she didn't care all that much. She knew that she wouldn't want to sleep a wink once she had reached her destination, and so catching up on the sleep she had lost over Seto was the best way she could find to distract herself.

Once she landed in Boston she sought refuge in the nearest bathroom. Her hair was a mess from all of the tossing and turning she'd done during the flight, her clothes just as wrinkled and unsettled. She brushed her hair out with her fingers and splashed water on her face to try to wake herself from the coma-like state she had slipped into. For a moment she pondered changing clothes in one of the stalls, but eventually determined it was too much trouble to go through.

After several long minutes of self-grooming she emerged from the restroom, wheeling her luggage cart to the main terminal. Moriah had told her that this was where her father would be waiting for her, and so it was Sam that she searched for amidst the moving and bustling crowd of the airport. Before long a sound caught her ear, rising above the din of the crowd and catching the brunette's attention. However, it was not the voice she had been expecting to hear.

"Al! Hey, ALEX!"

The teen glanced around quickly, in search of a middle-aged man with balding hair and a warm smile, but instead found someone quite different. It had not been Sam calling her, but a boy only a few years older than she with black hair and green eyes that mirrored her own. For a moment she hesitated, simply staring at the boy. But in the blink of an eye she had left her bags behind, running towards him as fast as her feet would carry her and flinging herself into his open arms. The boy's name was Angelo Win.

Angelo was Alex's half-brother, the product of a brief fling Sam had had with a woman named Claire Diago during one of his many high school break ups with Moriah. Through out most of his marriage to Moriah he had kept Angelo's existence a secret—which was not too difficult as he lived with his birth mother—but when she finally did learn of the boy it only fueled the first of their divorce. Alex, however, had met her brother at a very young age. They attended the same day care and elementary school (both Sam's doing, of course) and became fast friends (something Sam had also encouraged). The children's' relationship allowed them to spend ample time together. Moriah, meanwhile, seemed to tolerate Angelo's presence in her family's life at first, but as time wore on and her relationship with Sam worsened her hatred towards the child became more and more evident. Eventually it came to the point where Sam refused to bring Angelo around his home anymore for fear of the way Moriah might treat him.

Eventually, though, Sam and Moriah divorced. Alex went with Moriah (the woman felt this was only fair since Sam had his own lovechild to take care of), and from then on saw very little of either Sam or Angelo. It had been over a year since she'd last seen her father and even longer since she'd seen her brother. But she had kept in contact every way she knew how, and now here she stood with Angelo's arms hugged tight around her.

"Angelo, what are you doing here?" Alex squealed as the boy in question spun her around before placing her on the ground once more, smiling broadly.

"Dad told me you were headed home, so I thought I'd join the welcoming committee."

"But I thought you were at school in New York!"

I took some time off to come down and see my baby sister. Is that a crime?"

"Of course not! I just didn't even think I'd get to see you!" She shook her head, smiling up at her brother. "But where's dad?"

"He's right behind you," a warm voice said, and as Alex turned she saw a smiling man leaning against her abandoned luggage cart. Though he had crow's feet at the corners of his eyes and the posture of a tired man, the smile that grew on his lips as his daughter approached him was as bright as any youth's. When Alex stopped before him he removed his hat only to place it on her head and smirk down at her as though her height amused him.

"You've grown," he mused, and Alex's head tilted to the side so that she could peer up at him from under the bill of his hat.

"Actually, I think you've shrunk."

"Think I've shrunk, huh?" Sam chuckled before pulling Alex into a rib-crushing hug.

"Dad, I can't breathe!"

"Alex goes off to fancy old Japan and now she thinks she's so smart," Angelo teased as Sam loosened his hold on his daughter.

"What're you talking about? Alex has always been a smarty!" The man removed his hat from Alex's head before ruffling her hair. "She got it from my side of the family, y'know."

"Yeah, 'cause God knows she couldn't get any intelligence from that harpy woman she calls 'mother.'"

"Hey, now, watch it," Sam warned, though with little conviction, releasing the girl from his hold as he grabbed hold of her luggage cart. "She's still Al's mom."

"Maybe so, but Ange is right," Alex sighed. "Mom's lost it."

"She did sound a little funny on the phone," Sam said before shrugging his shoulders and nodding his head towards the main door. "We'll talk about it later. Let's just head out, huh?"

Both siblings nodded and advanced towards the door with their father following close behind. Once outside Angelo led the way to the car and while Sam loaded Alex's luggage into the trunk the brunette planted herself in the passenger's seat—much to her brother's dismay. The two of them launched into a war of words over who should have the honor of riding shotgun, and when the oldest saw he was losing he dove at his sister, tickling her while trying to hoist her up over his shoulder to move her. Alex shrieked with laughter while breathlessly begging her brother to stop, but he seemed void of remorse and smiled wickedly as he continued his attack. It was only when Sam settled into the driver's seat and—through his laughter—ordered his son to "cut it out and get in the back seat already" Angelo grudgingly did as he was told, finally settling into the back seat.

With everyone buckled in and the commotion down to a minimum, Sam began the drive from the airport to his apartment. It was a long drive but never dull as the small family spent the time catching up on time lost between them. All the while Alex did her best not to mention Seto for two reasons. One reason was that she didn't want to seem too anxious to discuss the matter or too eager for Sam to put Moriah in her place—she was worried that if she came on too strong her dad, courteous though he may have been, would turn reluctant. The other reason was that she was still worried about Seto and, in truth, she wasn't quite ready to discuss him with her father as she didn't think herself quite ready to craft a good lie.

When they reached Sam's apartment Alex was pleasantly surprised. It was far bigger than her father's last apartment, with two bedrooms and a kitchenette. With Alex's arrival Angelo was moved out of the guest bedroom he had been inhabiting and relocated to the living room sofa while his sister took his place. She spent the next hour or so idly unpacking while chatting with the two men, their conversation carefully steered away from her and focused on her father and brother. In the meantime Sam lingered in the doorway, eyes following his daughter as she flitted around the room, and Angelo lounged on the bed. After the brunette had put her things away the three settled into the living room, Sam collapsing into an arm chair while Angelo lay down on the couch with Alex stretched out beside him, her head resting on her brother's chest.

"So enough talk about us," Sam said with a smile. "What've you been up to all this time, Alex?"

"Yeah," Angelo quipped, "tell us about all the fun you've been having."

"No fun at all, really," she answered with a sigh, faking the best smile she could manage.

"That's not what Moriah's been telling dad," Angelo prodded with a laugh, and Sam shot him a reproachful look.

"C'mon now, she just got here. Why d'you have to bug her about stuff right off the bat?"

"It's okay, dad. We have to talk about stuff sometime, right?"

"See, dad? Alex doesn't mind! So what's this I hear about you scuzzing around with the heir of KaibaCorp?"

"Angelo!" Sam growled, sitting up a bit straighter.

"What? I'm just asking!"

"Really, it's fine," Alex assured her father before shrugging her shoulders. "What have you heard, Ange?"

"Like I said, that you've been schmoozing around with some of the corporate men in Japan. Some kid named Seto Kaiba?"

"Yeah, I know Seto," Alex answered, meeting her father's now less-than-warm stare. "We're pretty close..."

"Didn't some stuff come out about that Kaiba kid a couple of weeks ago? Some kinda shady stuff, right?"

"Some tabloids accused him of trading sexual favors for business deals among some company men," Sam interjected, his eyes never leaving his daughter's face. "No respectable sources took the story, though, so there wasn't any real proof to it."

"None of it was true," Alex muttered bitterly. "That's why there's no proof."

"How do _you_ know?" Angelo asked with narrowed eyes. "Maybe he's lying, or maybe—"

"I just know, Ange," the brunette said shortly. "I know that everyone thinks that because Seto's some rich kid he must be... I dunno... void of morals or something. But he's actually a good kid, and a really nice guy when he wants to be."

"'When he wants to be,'" Angelo repeated with a chuckle before shaking his head. "Jeez, Al, I believe you. I was only asking..."

"Sounds like Alex has been asked enough about Seto these past few weeks, huh?" Sam asked after a moment of silence, to which Alex nodded.

"Yeah, you could say that. Everything was going fine until mom jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else."

"Actually, that sounds about right."

"Angelo, cut it out," Sam said darkly, and Alex shook her head as though neither of the two had spoken.

"Before these stories came out it was like she wanted us to get married or something! But as soon as Seto got into a fight at school she acted like she couldn't stand the sound of his name."

"She's just looking out for you, Al," her father said in a gentle tone. "This kid's got a hectic life and with all these rumors coming out about him and with him getting suspended... I mean, can you blame her for being a little nervous?"

"No... I mean, I get why she's worried. And I might be a bit more understanding if she would just give Seto a chance to explain. Or me! I'm her daughter for God's sake! You'd think I'd gain a little credibility for having known her almost sixteen years."

"Al, you've got a snowball's chance in Hell of getting that woman to hear you out." Angelo brushed the hair back from the brunette's forehead and smiled down at her. "You're asking for a miracle, sister."

"No, I'm asking for her to be reasonable."

"I say again: you're asking for a miracle."

"Alright guys, let's lay off Moriah for a little bit, huh? I know she can be a little hard to deal with sometimes, but really... She's probably doing the best she can."

"Well..." Alex glanced up at her father, an almost pleading look in her eyes. "D'you think you could ask her to do a little better?"

"I saw that coming," Angelo chuckled, though a single look from Sam silenced in him.

"What did you have in mind?" the man asked as his gaze swiveled back to his daughter.

"I was kinda hoping you could just tell her to chill. I mean, I don't mind her worrying about me or telling me to be careful or anything like that. But she's gone out of control. The only reason she let me come out here was to make sure I'd be away from Seto."

"That's a little drastic..." Angelo said with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, and she doesn't want me to see him anymore, either. Like, _at all_. Even though we have to work together on a project at school for a grade. And then there's Tom..."

"Whaddyou mean?" Sam asked, as though the mere mention of the "other father's" name had peaked his interest. "What about Tom?"

"Well at first he acted like he was on our side—like he understood that Seto hadn't done anything, that there wasn't anything wrong with him. But then the night before I left he said... he said stuff about me staying away from Seto to put less pressure on him."

"That's what he said?" her father asked as his brow furrowed.

"Yeah. I'd thought he was going to get mom to come off this overprotective trip she's on, but now I've got no idea what he's gonna do."

"So you thought I might be able to talk some sense into her?"

"Maybe..."

"You do know that she _divorced_ me, right?"

"It was a mutual separation," Alex said with a confident smile, already sensing that her father was leaning in favor of her request. "Besides, she still listens to you. Otherwise she probably wouldn't have let me come to see you. She thought that _I_ was the one who needed some sense talked into, and she seemed to think you were the perfect man to do it."

"Sounds like you're doin' a great job of it so far," Angelo said with a smirk, and Sam shook his head with a sigh.

"Look, I'll think about it, alright? We can talk about it later. For now... whaddyou say we get something to eat? I'm starving."

"Betcha Al's hungry, too," Angelo said with a smirk. "Airplane food sucks."

Sam nodded before rising to his feet, making his way to the kitchenette. In an instant Angelo was on his heels, staring into the contents of the fridge over his father's shoulder. From her place on the couch Alex could hear the pair bickering about what may or may not be considered edible, and all the while Alex sat with a smile on her lips. Everything was gonna work out. She was sure of it.

. . . . . . . . . .

As the next day or so passed, the small family seemed to fall perfectly into place. It was as though they had never been apart—as though Alex had never been taken to Japan with her mother, or Angelo had never gone off to tempt his hand at entrepreneurship and art dealing in New York.

Seto, however, was not mentioned again. In fact, it wasn't until the night before Alex was supposed to leave that Sam even hinted he had been giving the KaibaCorp heir any consideration at all. It was when Alex was packing her suitcases for the plane ride home that her father poked his head into the room, a warm smile on his lips.

"How's it goin', kiddo?" he asked, his smile widening as he lingered in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Gettin' everything settled for the long journey home?"

"Yeah," Alex breathed, collapsing on to the bed with a heavy sigh. "I don't even know why mom had me come if I was only going to stay for three days."

"Not worth the trip, huh?" Sam teased, planting himself on the mattress beside his daughter and nudging her shoulder playfully. In his hand was a thin, square object wrapped up in newspaper that Alex was almost certain she knew the identity of. But her father set it to the side as though the parcel did not exist. "Don't tell Angelo; it'd break his heart if he heard it."

"And you've got a heart of stone?" the brunette asked with a smile.

"Solid granite."

"Don't get me wrong, dad," Alex explained once she'd finished giggling at her father's remark. "I love getting to see you guys. But I'd rather have stayed here for the entire break. It's like double punishment to send me away and then force me home so quick."

"Ah, c'mon now, why would you want to hang around here for two weeks? You've got plenty to keep you busy at home—like that boyfriend of yours."

"I guess..." she said with a shrug. "But what's the point in being there because of him if I can't even see him?"

"I'd heard it was the thought that counted," Sam said with the air of one trying to lighten the mood. It seemed his efforts were in vain, though, for Alex sighed and her father frowned. He leaned back on his hands, watching her. "Tell me about this Kaiba kid. His name's Seto, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Okay, so Seto Kaiba. What's he like?"

"He's... quiet. And a little stand off-ish. But... he's nice. He can be funny when he wants to..."

"Your mom says he's cold, stiff, antisocial and cruel."

"She only says that because of what happened at school. If you'd asked her about Seto a couple of weeks ago she'd have told you he was the nicest young man with the most beautiful blue eyes and that he and I just made the cutest couple anyone had ever seen."

"Laying it on a little thick, aren't you, Al?"

"The first time he came to the house mom actually said that he would be, quote, 'perfect for our Alex,' end quote."

"She really said that?" Sam said with a chuckle, shaking his head. Though, in all honesty, he wasn't too surprised. It _did_ sound like something Moriah would say...

"We weren't even together yet," Alex said as she pushed on with the air of someone trying to mask embarrassment. "In fact, that was back when Seto was dead set against the two of us becoming an 'us' at all."

"How come?"

"A few reasons. He's not exactly comfortable with people, for one. But... even more than that, it was because his stepfather was encouraging him to make us an item, and he didn't want things to go that way. He said that... that if we were to be more than friends, that it should be because it was what _we_ wanted, not because Gozaburo wanted it."

"Sounds about right."

"Well, whether he was right or not isn't the point. His stepfather gave him a lot of flack for not obeying a 'direct order.' He's taken a lot of heat for me... for us." She paused for a moment as her gaze fell to her hands, clasped tightly together in her lap. "He's a good person, dad. He's nothing like those tabloid reporters make him out to be."

"You'd know better than I would, Al. I'm just asking questions." The man thought for a moment before relaxing farther back on the bed, smiling at his daughter warmly. "So what about the fight at school? I only got your mom's half of it—which I'd assume is the watered down version."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Alex said with a snort. "This guy, Greg Johnson, has been out to get Seto ever since those rumors started. Greg's parents were getting a divorce because his mom caught his dad cheating on her and—"

"And Greg somehow got it in his head that Seto was involved because of those articles, huh?"

"Exactly. So he started giving Seto a hard time. Finally, Greg cornered him into a fight, and it was just the wrong day. Seto's stepfather had been running him into the ground with his... training that week. He makes Seto do all these extra drills and exercises on... on economic theory and business strategy and stuff."

"I see," Sam mused with a nod and a furrowed brow before his daughter pushed on.

"He was already tired and at the end of his rope. And Greg pushed just the right buttons."

"What kind of buttons?"

"He said some stuff about me and about Seto's little brother, Mokuba. It just set him off."

"Alright then," Sam said with a small smile, as though the thought of this Kaiba kid standing up for his daughter appealed to him. "So what happened?"

"Seto handed Greg's ass to him is what happened."

"Language," Alex's father warned, though the chuckle that shook his voice betrayed any real criticism he had intended to convey.

"Well that's what happened!" the brunette laughed, leaning back into the bed's headboard. "Seto turned Greg's face into a bloody mess. He was so upset... But the worst part wasn't the fight, really. It was what happened afterwards. He was suspended for a week, and as far as I know he didn't even make it to school on the last day of term for exams. If he did I never saw him..."

"And you haven't heard from him since the fight?"

"Not since that night, no."

"Have you tried to call him?"

"No. I figure he's in enough trouble with his stepfather without me calling and adding to it."

"I thought his stepfather was trying to get the two of you together. Does he not like you?"

"I don't really know. I don't think he cares about me one way or the other, really. But to be honest, whether or not he likes me doesn't make much of a difference. Not when it comes to Seto..."

Sam watched his daughter for a moment, a smile on his lips. It was the same old Alex. She just wanted everyone to be okay, and if they weren't she wanted to _help_ them be okay. This Kaiba kid was no exception. He could see that look in his daughter's eye, could hear it in her voice when she talked about the boy. He knew it wouldn't matter who told her not to see Seto or how many times they told her. She cared about the kid and no one could change that. But that didn't mean that Sam was finished.

"Well, what about Tom? I know how Moriah feels about all of this, but what about the 'other dad'?"

"I dunno. It's like I said the other night: one minute he says that he understands, and the next he seems to think that distance between Seto and I is the only option."

"Huh. Well, maybe he's just playing both sides. You know, trying to keep both you and your mom happy. You wouldn't happen to know if Tom does a lot of face-to-face work with Gozaburo Kaiba, would you?"

"I don't know. I know he goes to KaibaCorp a few times a week, but I'm not sure how often he actually sees Gozaburo." The brunette was quiet for a moment, remembering the brief conversation she and Seto had had about Tom. Seto had assured her that her stepfather had never done anything to be ashamed of, and she believed him. "Why do you want to know about Tom's work with Gozaburo?"

"No reason," Sam said with another shrug of his shoulders. "I'm just nosy—which is a trait you _clearly_ did not inherit, because otherwise you would have already asked me what _this_ is."

It was then that Sam lifted the thin, news wrapped square he had had in hand when he first entered the room. Alex smiled up at her father, watching as he twirled the parcel in quick circles with his fingers.

"Oh, gee, dad, I wonder what it could be," the brunette mused sarcastically, though a bright smile had stolen over her face.

"Well, I dunno. You'll have to open it and find out." And with that he handed the gift to his daughter, his own smile widening as she slipped the paper away. Tearing away the newspaper revealed a cardboard sheaf decorated with a multitude of monks clad in brown and blue robes standing beneath a blue sky. Alex was quiet at first before running her fingers across the white letter printed across the top of the cardboard: _**B. Ö. C.**_

"Blue Öyster Cult's 'Fire of Unknown Origin,'" Sam said in a soft tone that seemed to make the record sacred. "If memory serves it's an album you don't have."

"No..." she answered quietly, looking up at her father. "I mean, I've had the CD for ages, but I never did get the vinyl. Dad... this is awesome!"

"I thought you might like it. Just a little early Christmas present for my baby girl."

For a moment the pair sat in silence, reveling in the rare father-daughter moment that their long-term separation had prevented them from sharing. But soon their eyes roamed to the things left unpacked that lay scattered around the room, and in that moment they were reminded of Alex's plane departure set less than twelve hours away. And it was then that the warm feeling that had filled the room seemed to decay and wane away until it was nothing but a cold reminder of the thousands of miles that would soon lie between them.

"Well, I should probably let you finish up," Sam said with a heavy sigh, rising to his feet and crossing to the door. "I'm sure you're gonna wanna hit the hay soon, anyway."

"Yeah, probably so..."

"Alrighty then. I'll leave you to it." He turned to do just that, a certain sadness in his smile that hadn't been there before, when his daughter's voice stopped him.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?" he answered, glancing back over his shoulder.

"Thanks for... all this. I mean, I haven't really been able to talk to anyone about what's going on—not anyone who would hear me out anyway. And... it helps. So, thanks."

"Anything for my baby girl," Sam said warmly, patting the doorframe before shooting his daughter a smile. "Besides, you're a smart kid, and you're a pretty good judge of character when it comes right down to it. It sounds to me like ditching that Johnson kid and his crew like you did was a smart move."

"You're telling me," Alex muttered, and her father chuckled.

"I tell you what. I'll give your mom a call tomorrow once you get on your plane. I'll let her know you're on your way, and then I'll have a chat with her about Kaiba—y'know, see what I can do. It might take a few weeks for her to come around, but I'm sure she'll give a little. She may be tough about this stuff, but it's only 'cause she cares."

"I know, dad. I know she cares... I just think she's wrong on this one, that's all."

"Yeah, kinda sounds like she's got her head in the sand this time around. But I'll take care of it."

"Good old, reliable dad," the brunette teased.

"Hey, I may be good and reliable but there's no reason to start tossing insults around about me being old. I'm doin' you a favor, after all."

"My bad," Alex said with a laugh, which only seemed to brighten her father's smile.

"You bet it's your bad." The father crossed the room once more, pausing at the side of the bed to kiss his daughter's forehead before turning to leave once more. "Sleep tight, kiddo."

"Night, dad."

Sam closed the door as he left, leaving a smiling teenager behind him. Everything was going to be okay; she was sure of it this time. Her dad was going to take care of things, and then everything would be back to normal. Or at least as normal as things could get.

. . . . . . . . . .

Once Alex had finished packing away all of her things she had changed into a tank top and pajama bottoms before burrowing her way under the blankets of her bed. She was exhausted from the last hour or so of rushed packing, and for the first time in a long time her mind was at ease about the fate of her relationship with Seto. She would never have to tell him of the small disruption that nearly tore them apart. He would never have to know.

As soon as the brunette's head hit the pillow and her eyes had closed she had drifted away into sleep. It was a peaceful sleep, one void of tossing and turning. So when a soft knock on her door at some time around three in the morning tore her from her slumber, it was no surprise that she groaned loudly and pulled her blankets high over her head. This didn't seem to deter her visitor, however, as she could hear the door opening and closing, soon followed by footsteps crossing through the darkness and the feeling of the edge of the mattress sinking as a figure sat down beside her.

"Move over," the voice said quietly.

"Ange, I'm too tired for this," Alex moaned, though she did as she was told and inched sideways, making room for her brother. She felt him lay down beside her, his back pressed against his hers, and then heard him sigh.

"Just like when we were kids, huh?" he asked, a small smile on his lips.

"Yeah..."

"I remember when you'd come to stay at dad's and you'd get all nervous about being alone. You'd come running into my room in the middle of the night, begging me to let you sleep with me. I never did know why you didn't just ask dad."

"I didn't want dad to think I was scared..."

"Yeah? Well, I didn't mind." His smiled widened a bit as his gaze drifted over to the bedroom's sole window. "You used to hate thunder and lightning, too."

"Yeah, and when I'd go back home and there'd be no big brother's room to run to, I'd—"

"Call my house in the middle of the night," Angelo chuckled. "And my mom would get so mad..."

"Didn't she get used to it after a while, though?"

"Yeah. On nights when the weatherman said it was going to storm she would stick the phone on my bedside table, just in case..."

Both siblings laughed and soon Alex had rolled over to face her brother, her forehead resting against his back. The two were quiet for a moment before Angelo spoke up once more.

"This Kaiba kid's okay, right Alex? I mean, you're not in any kinda trouble are you?"

"Whaddyou mean? What kind of trouble?"

"You know, getting mixed up with some kid whose no good and not being able to find a way out of it. That sorta trouble."

"It's nothing like that, Ange."

"'Cause if it was, you know I'd fly all the way over there and kick this guy's ass. You _do_ know that, right?"

"I know, Ange. I know you and dad are looking out for me. And I know mom is looking out for me, too. You've all got my best interests at heart and all that."

"Well, _I_ dunno about that, but—"

"But Seto's looking out for me, too. That's how he got into this mess—by sticking up for me." Her hands curled gently into her brother's shirt, a small smile on her lips. "Really, Ange, Seto's okay."

"Alright then," Angelo murmured, rolling over to face the brunette. "So he's protective. Is he _too_ protective?"

"Maybe," the brunette said with a shrug and a soft laugh. "But not in a bad way."

"What're his grades like?"

"He's a genius set to take over a multi-billion dollar company. His grades are pristine."

"Yeah? And what's he like in bed?"

"Ange!"

"What?"

"Why would you even ask that?" Alex said indignantly, sitting up straight to glare at her brother properly.

"You can tell a lot about a guy by how he treats a girl—and you can tell even more about who he _really_ is by what kind of messed up kinks and fetishes he's in to. So what's your CEO-to-be like?"

"It isn't like that," she answered, shaking her head.

"Alex—"

"No, I mean, it isn't _like that._ We aren't sleeping together."

"Oh, c'mon, Al, I'm not dad. You can tell _me_."

"I'm not lying to you. It's true."

"Really?" Angelo frowned, his brow slightly creased in confusion. "You'd think some ritzy kid would only be in it for the sex... Hell, that's what most poor kids his age are in it for, anyway."

"I keep telling you guys that Seto isn't like that," Alex sighed, crawling to the edge of the bed away from Angelo and staring down at the floor. "His parents died when he was a kid and he's spent his whole life looking out of his little brother. His stepfather runs him into the ground with... with all his training and extra work, and before this year Seto hadn't even been enrolled in a public school."

"Huh... That's no fun."

"No, it's not. And on top of everything else, all the kids at school hate him because they think he's some kind of spoiled brat."

"Well, is he?"

"No! Dammit, Ange, are you even listening to me?"

"Alex—" her brother murmured, realizing he'd upset her, but she simply talked on over him.

"He's a good guy! He puts up with shit from _everyone_: his stepfather, Gozaburo's businessmen, the kids at school, and now mom. And all he wants is for people to leave him alone. All he wants is to be normal."

"Alex, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it..."

"I know you didn't, I just... I'm _tired_ of people trying to convince me that there's something wrong with him—that he's no good. Even _he's_ convinced of it now."

"Alex..." Angelo frowned, moving across the bed to sit beside her and to rest his hand on her shoulder. "I'm your big brother; I'm supposed to give you a hard time about the guys you're seeing. I'm supposed to look out for you. It's my job!"

"I know, Ange, I know..." She shook her head, surprised at the anger that had swelled within her. It wasn't Angelo she was upset with, though that _was_ a part of it. "I'm just sick of people who think they _know_ Seto or know what's best for us. He gets into one little fight and suddenly everyone thinks they _know _him—like they know some dark secret about him or something. All they _know_ is what a few tabloid reporters thought would make for a money-making story. And the worst part of it was that those scum sucking reporters were right. People _love_ a scandal. Even if it's about a sixteen-year-old kid."

Angelo sighed, wrapping his arm around his sister's shoulder and hugging her close. Being almost five years her senior, he'd had far more experience in relationships than she. And as a mediocre high school student who had gone on to attend art school, he had been considered a "questionable prospect" by the parents of many of his former girlfriends. He knew what it felt like to be in a relationship that nobody wanted to see succeed. It felt like hell.

"Look, Alex, I get you. I get where you're coming from. You two... you'll be okay. You aren't the first kids to have parents going against you, or to get looked down on at school. It happens all the time. You're just getting a little more publicity over it is all. I bet all this junk will blow over, and everything will be fine."

"Yeah...?" she asked with a sigh of her own, shaking her head once more. "Well, I'll believe that when I see it."

"Besides, who cares what all those other jerks think? They can think what they like, so long as you two are good, right?"

"Yeah... But Seto cares a lot about what other people think. It's been bred into him to be constantly aware of what the public thinks of him, to be worried about his image. He can't help it."

"So screw him. Screw all of 'em." Angelo shook his head, leaning back and extending his hands to balance himself on the bed. "Honestly, Al, it isn't worth putting yourself through hell. If you feel like shit, then he's not worth it. No guy is."

The brunette nodded, laying down once more and turning so that she was facing away from her brother once more. She buried herself beneath her bed covers, hitching them up high on her shoulder before curling up into a tight ball. All the while she bit her lip, fighting the all too romantic and naive words that had first popped into her head the moment Angelo had spoken: _but he is worth it._

It sounded ignorant and childish, but she couldn't help but feel that it was true—for the moment, anyway. Sure, it might not be true forever, or even a year from now. But that wasn't what was important. It was true at _that moment_, and it made her feel incredibly homesick. Homesick for their small nook tucked away in the library, for their stupid baby project, for those moments spent on late afternoons when they sat close enough that their shoulders touched but not a word need be spoken between them.

It wasn't all that stupid, was it? Being Seto's friend—whether she was dating him or not was beside the point, but being his _friend_—was worth more to her than all the fake friends she could have possibly accumulated at Domino High. And feeling that that friendship was worth all the gossip and the teasing and taunts in the world was a feeling that she really didn't want to lose. It meant something to her; Seto meant something to her. And, despite how much she loved her father and her brother and the time she had spent with them, for the first time during her short vacation she couldn't wait to be home.

"But what do I know, huh?" Angelo asked, her silence making him think he had said something else wrong. He stretched back out beside his sister, wrapping an arm around her to hug her close before resting his chin on her shoulder. Then he lifted a hand over her head to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, smiling tenderly at her. "I'm just the big bro."

"You know plenty, Ange," Alex said with a soft laugh, relaxing back into Angelo's chest and smiling. She tried to put the longing to see Seto out of her mind and simply enjoy the moment with her brother. She didn't know when she might have another, after all. "And you're the best 'big bro' a girl could ask for."

"Yeah? Well, sweet of you to say, but seems like I haven't really had the chance to show off my brotherly skills lately." He paused, a look of mock concentration creasing his features before he smiled at the brunette once more. "And that being the case, those 'big brother kicks ass' vouchers don't exactly have an expiration date. So if any of those twerps at school start giving you too rough of a time, I can still hop a plane and come over there to beat some sense into some tweenage kiddies."

"You're the salt of the earth, Ange," Alex laughed, and Angelo laughed too. The two settled into the bed, just as they had done when they were children and, for the first time since she had been seven years old and he had been eleven, the pair fell asleep talking to each other through the darkness, laughing drowsily over one thing and mumbling agreements over another.

. . . . . . . . . .

"You're sure you've got everything?" Sam asked in a breath, one of Alex's bags still slung over his shoulder. Despite the fact that everyone had woken up early in order to ensure an equally early arrival to the airport, something had seemed to thrown the curve off drastically between the time everyone had finally risen and the time they had all made it into Sam's car. Once at the airport Sam had loaded the few bag's Alex had onto a luggage cart, and shortly thereafter the family went thundering down the terminal to Alex's boarding gate: Sam pushing the cart along while Angelo carried his sister on his back, the siblings laughing as they went.

"Dad, I'm sure," Alex answered confidently as Angelo set her down on her feet. She was now two bags lighter, both having been abandoned at one check point or another to baggage claim, and the third hung lightly on her father's shoulder.

"Just chill, pops," Angelo interjected, slinging his arm around his sister's shoulder. "Besides, if she forgot anything you can just ship it to her. No big deal. Or, hell, you could make the trip to Japan yourself! It'd give you a chance to meet the new stud!"

"Ange—" the brunette warned quietly, but she did so with a smile. She had made her feelings pretty well known to her brother by now. She knew that anything he said at this point was harmless teasing and nothing more, and harmless teasing was something she could deal with.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Angelo replied, shaking his head. "'Shut up, you ass.' Saw it coming from a mile away."

"Mm-hmm."

It was then that the last people in line for the plane Alex was to board filed through the door and hallway, leaving the brunette and her send off committee as the only remaining occupants of the terminal. Sam glanced around for a moment before sighing heavily, turning to face his daughter once more.

"Guess this is it, huh?"

"You say it so _miserably_," Alex chuckled, "like you're never going to see me again or something!"

"Hey," her brother warned in mock seriousness. "Don't say stuff like that before getting on a plane. It's all kinds of bad luck."

"Angelo, hush," Sam ordered, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder as though telling the boy to hit the road. Angelo's brow furrowed and he frowned as though his father had truly dealt him a low blow.

"Fine then!" he muttered indignantly, though he hugged his sister's neck one final time and as he did so she heard him laugh under his breath, which only made her smile. Alex watched as he took a few steps behind their father, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets and striking a casual and almost aloof pose.

Which left the hardest goodbye for last. The father and daughter stared at each other for a long moment, a sheepish smile on her lips and a warm smile on his. Neither said anything at first, but at risk of making Alex miss her flight on account of latent desires to make her do just that, it was Sam who finally broke the silence.

"Hey there, kiddo."

"Hey there, yourself," she returned with a smile that seemed to grow with every passing second. Again the pair stood in silence before Sam finally stepped forward, pulling his daughter into a gentle yet unmistakably loving hug.

"You're gonna have to come back out here sometime soon," he said quietly. "Maybe summer break or something. Whaddya say?"

"Sounds good," Alex answered, hugging close to her father's chest. And despite the well intended words, they both knew that the odds of Moriah letting her daughter venture out to Boston again any time soon were slim to none.

Sam nodded, releasing her from his hold after another long silence only to take her head in his hands and press his lips to her hair.

"I love you, kiddo," he breathed, his eyes closing tight for a brief moment.

"I love you, too, dad," the brunette said softly, her own eyes closing in an effort to fight off the tears that threatened to cloud her vision. They stood together for a minute or two more, and then it was as though reason returned to them. The man released his daughter, brushing out the wrinkles his hugs had no doubt caused in the sleeves and shoulders of her jacket and then handing off her bag to her. She had to go, and they both knew it. She had to go.

"Now, you gimme a call when you hit the transfer flight in Chicago, and once you do I'll give your mom a call and let her know you're headed home."

"Sure, dad," Alex murmured, shouldering her bag with a nod.

"Okie doke." Sam nodded again, and after a moment more of staring into his daughter's eyes he motioned her off to the boarding gate, a smile on his lips. "Go on. I'll see ya when I see ya."

"Yep."

And with that, she turned away and walked to stewardess who stood guard to check tickets. Alex extended the small sheaf of paper, letting the woman check that everything was accounted for, and in that moment she glanced back at her father and brother who stood together, both watching her go with sad smiles on their faces.

In that moment she was seized by some overwhelming urge to tear the ticket up into pieces, to run back to her father, to have him call her mother and tell the woman that she wasn't going back and that she would just have to live with that. It didn't matter who was waiting for her back in Japan or what some stupid judge had said in some ancient custody battle, because she didn't want to go home. But as the stewardess handed her the ticket back the moment passed. Instead she forced a smile, gave a little wave of her hand, and called in a choked and almost hoarse voice, "Love you guys!" And then she turned and boarded the plane that would take her home.

And once his daughter's back was turned to him, a frown darkened the features of Sam Win. It wasn't because his daughter was gone, but because he didn't know when he would see her again.


End file.
